New Private Investigation Laws Expose Cowboy Investigators
Investigating the Investigators, new Private Investigation laws!
A Government probe into the Private Investigation business in the UK has resulted in sweeping law changes and a crackdown on cowboy operators posing as qualified private investigators.
The Home Office is introducing a new regulatory system to keep private investigators throughout the UK in check and to protect the public from unqualified, cowboy operators.
The new legislation requires that private investigators not only in Glasgow and Edinburgh but all over the UK be licensed and qualified to undertake business, any PI found to be operating without an official licence will be subject to criminal offense proceedings by the regulatory board.
Formerly any unscrupulous, unqualified operator could call themselves a private investigator, which in the past has resulted in numerous consumer complaints of shoddy service and excessive billing from unlicensed private investigators operating with seeming impunity.
The report even found investigators with previous criminal convictions doing business in the UK, findings like these and the fact that unlicensed private investigators could infringe on any individuals privacy resulted in the new laws being put in place.
The Home Secretary stated:
“It is vital we have proper regulation of private investigators to ensure rigorous standards in this sector and the respect of individuals’ rights to privacy.
That is why I am announcing today the Government’s intention to regulate this industry, making it a criminal offence to operate as a private investigator without a licence.
Anyone with a criminal conviction for data protection offences can expect to have their application for a licence refused.”
The SIA will be regulating licenses
Private Investigators licenses in Glasgow and Edinburgh and throughout the UK will only be granted by the Security Industry Authority only when the applicant has successfully:
· Finished full training and gained government recognised qualifications, which is to include full knowledge of relevant standards and laws, and also be qualified in the skills needed to conduct investigative activities in an ethical manner.
· Confirmed with SIA, their identity; and
· Undergone an officially recognised criminal background check
You can be confident when you need to hire a private investigator in Glasgow or Edinburgh that SIKA Security and Investigations Agency (SIKA SIA) will meet and exceed the licence and qualification requirements of the new regulatory body. SIKA SIA Private Investigators are trained by Argus Europe