Loose laws for Alabama private investigators

People who hire private investigators are sometimes at their most vulnerable. They're often in a situation where they might wish they weren't, and they want answers to sensitive questions.

One man in the business wants state lawmakers to pass a bill that would eliminate con artists in his trade who prey on clients' weaknesses.

Bill Posey is CEO of Posey Investigations. He said television and movies sometimes give his industry a bad name, but he hopes new legislation will clean up that image in a state that doesn't regulate who has the right to secretly get you information.

Auto accidents, extramarital affairs, missing persons and dogs, and custody battles are at the center of many PI investigations. Since 1996, Posey's career has revolved around secrecy.

But the private investigator isn't keeping quiet about a bill making its way to the state legislature. It would regulate and license the practice of private investigation, create a board to oversee such practices, and would make it a crime for a private investigator to work without a license.

"In Alabama, it is harder to get a fishing license or a hunting license," Posey said.

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