What are the values of crime fiction in The Maltese Falcon?

I think that one can find several examples of values in
crime fiction from Hammett's work.  One of these values is the directed end to which the
crimefighter must succeed.  There is little doubt that in crime fiction, the person
sworn to fight crime and find "the answer" definitely does so.  Sam Spade is shown to be
too shrewd and too insightful to take anything less.  Additionally, much in crime
fiction is developed with the idea that the person who is meant to fight crime is pretty
much incorruptible.  In a setting where so much in way of graft, apathy, and ignorance
have colluded with one another to form a "perfect storm" that will doom society, the
crime fighter in crime fiction is one who stands alone.  The crime fighter is able to
fully embrace the struggle that is present.  I think that another element of crime
fiction values that is present here is that there is a honor in being the sole force
that remedies that which is wrong.  Crime fiction praises the emphasis and actions of
one individual, Sam Spade or Clarice Starling.  In the end, such individuals are driven
to embody one of the critical elements of crime fiction, in that there is an answer and
one simply has to display the commitment in order to find it and demonstrate success in
solving the crime, in question.