PI Licensing in trouble
It's hard to believe that nearly 5 years have passed since Colorado's first PI Licensing in 35 years was actually put into place.
Of course, now that's it's up for its sunset, the future of the bill looks bleak. The regulating agency (DORA) never wanted it in the first place, and has been fighting tooth and nail against PIs since the day the law went into effect. Governor Polis has been repealing laws because, reasons.
Personally, I'm not very keen on regulation. But in this instance, I feel that Private Investigators really are one of those industries that need oversight and vetting. Imagine a family member in crisis, and in need of a PI's services. Now imagine there is no licensing for investigators. Bob the plumber could claim to be a PI, because there is no standards of industry when the licensing goes away. Bob likes to read mysteries, so thinks he'd make a good PI. And he's watched a few TV shows, so he knows some lingo. And he had some business cards printed up. So he responds to a call from your family member and says he can do the job. He gets a retainer of a couple of thousand dollars....and does nothing. He doesn't do the job. Or else he takes off and completely ghosts your family member. Or he strings them along for even more money. Or he screws the job up so badly that there's no recovering from it. Or he does enough of the job to suffice, and ends up going to court to testify as to what he did- where your family member finds out that Bob has a criminal past and as such, can't be a credible witness. That means everything that he was paid to do gets thrown out of court.
Or...how about this- Bob is a pedophile. Because there is no vetting process and no standards or ethics, Bob can interview children involved in a family law case. And because there are no standards or legal ethics in place, Bob can work for both sides of the domestic case. Well, until one side finds out that the person they've trusted to help them in their case has actually been also working and taking money from the soon-to-be-ex...
Right now, the license has been self-sustaining. There's over 1000 licensed PIs in the state. They have to be a minimum of 21 years of age, fingerprinted on both a state and Federal level; they have to pass a jurisprudence test to prove that they actually know the laws, and they have to have a bond in place for consumer protection. When the law was first enacted, the cost was $336 to initially obtain a license. It is now about $83, with a renewal fee of $32/year.
But that could all go out the window because legislators don't understand what a PI does and how the law might protect consumers. The State PI Association is desperately trying to fight this, but it takes time and money and is an uphill battle.
If you feel so inclined, reach out to your legislators- your Representatives and your Senators, and request they vote yes on HB20-1207, to continue licensure of Private Investigators, for the purposes of consumer protection. I'd sincerely appreciate it.
If not, well...cross your fingers for us PIs. It's a long and weary battle, and the fiercest fighting is yet to come.
Thank you.
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Originally Posted by Great-Kazoo
