Private Investigator's License Takes Work to Obtain

Does the idea of sitting in cars for hours at a time, conducting computer checks and taking pictures with miniature cameras sound like fun? Before you go into the field of private investigation, be warned:

It's not as easy as it looks.

In Pennsylvania, you need to have worked for the FBI, state police, local police or a private investigator's office, according to Wanda Heitzman, who works for the Northampton County courts. But you can't be an active law enforcement officer and hold a private investigator's license, she says.

All applicants for a license have to be at least 25 years old and submit to fingerprinting. Then there's a background check from the district attorney's office, Heitzman says. No one with a felony conviction can get licensed.

"They go through everything with a fine-tooth comb and make sure everything's above-board," she says.

If it gets that far, applicants appear before a judge and provide proof that they're bonded for $10,000. "It's very seldom anybody's ever declined," Heitzman says.

While many investigators come from a law enforcement or military background, Matt Brown, owner of Lehigh Valley Detective Agency, started out working for another private detective agency for eight years before getting his license. He says the rigors of Northampton County's process helps ensure quality.

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Policy on Police with PI Licenses Regulated Locally

The executive director of the Louisiana State Board of Private Investigator Examiners says discussions have been held through the years about changing the state laws governing private investigators to exclude law enforcement officers.

"It's suggested from time to time, but it just hasn't happened," said executive director Pat Englade. "There are departments, Baton Rouge and Shreveport, that don't allow it as part of their own policies, because of the possible conflicts."

J.A. Oster, a West Monroe private investigator, said he brought the issue up a number of times during his 13-year board tenure. "I could never get the votes on the board that were needed," Oster said.

The News-Star learned that Sterlington Police Chief Barry Bonner had been issued a private investigator license and formed a limited liability corporation, Rogue Private Investigations. There have been past issues in Ouachita Parish about police officers having a PI license and the possible use of National Crime Information Center and ThinkStream materials, which other PIs would not have access.

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