|
The Hiring of Unlicensed
California Private Investigators
Justin
D. Hodson, CPI
June 17, 2011, Garden Grove, CA - Industries and Professions are usually
licensed to protect the consumer. These licenses
usually insure that the individual or company has fulfilled certain requirements
of their profession. This is the same
with private detectives in California.
The
minimum requirements to become a California licensed private investigator are;
one must be over the age of 18, have at least 6000 hours of compensated investigative
experience, pass a criminal background check through the California Department
of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation and then pass a two-hour test
on private investigation.
There
are many who cannot pass these aforementioned minimum requirements to become a
California private investigator. Some of
these who don't pass, or who don't even try, start working as unlicensed
investigators. These unlicensed private
investigators are a burden to the professional investigator who has worked hard
to earn and keep their license. In addition to
working hard, the licensed investigators follow the rules and regulations the
govern all licensed private detectives in California. Most of these laws are under the Business and
Professions Code Chapter 11.3.
Some
individuals find out the hard way after hiring an unlicensed private detective. They find that the investigation is inadmissible
in court, the investigation is usually performed incorrectly and liability is placed
on the individual who hired the unlicensed investigator.
More
recently, unlicensed private investigators have grabbed the headlines in
California.
The first case involves a Mr. Kevin Sianez out of Orange County who
has been charged with 63 criminal counts.
Two of those counts at Business and Professions codes 7523(a) and
7523(d), both unlicensed activity related.
This case is still pending and Mr. Sianez is innocent until proven
guilty.
The second and most recent case involves Edward
Joseph Ortega, 40, of Ridgecrest who allegedly acted as a private investigator
when he interviewed Hawthorne employees last year. Mr. Ortega has been charged with three counts
of perjury, one count of false personation and one misdemeanor count of
illegally working as a private investigator. This case is still pending and Mr. Ortega is innocent until proven
guilty.
One
of the other protections licensed investigators have is the California Business
and Professions code 7523(b). If anyone
knowingly hires an unlicensed private investigator they can be charged with a
crime in California. The law reads as follows:
Any person who violates
any provision of this chapter or who conspires with another person to violate
any provision of this chapter, relating to private investigator licensure, or
who knowingly engages a nonexempt unlicensed person is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable
by a fine of five thousand dollars ($5,000) or by imprisonment in the county
jail not to exceed one year, or by both that fine and imprisonment.
It
is imperative that consumers and investigators alike know this law and are aware of
the ramifications of hiring an unlicensed investigator in California. If business' knowingly hire unlicensed investigators
they could be charged under this law in addition to other laws and regulations
governed by the U.S. Tax code and California E.D.D.
This article was
prepared by Justin D. Hodson, CPI of Gailey Associates, Inc., a licensed
private investigation corporation based in California. Mr. Hodson is also the Vice President of
Investigative Services for the California Association of Licensed Investigators
(CALI) and acts as the Chair of the Unlicensed Practices Committee within the
association. Mr. Hodson is also a California Licensed Private Investigator and
a Certified Private Investigator through C.A.L.I. Gailey Associates, Inc. has offices located in
Orange County and Los Angeles, California.
Their websites are www.GaileyAssociates.com and www.InvestigatorForYou.com
| 
