Group Wants Standards For Private Investigators

It’s tough enough for Steve Wolf and his colleagues to live down the image of television detectives, but it gets worse if the bad apple sits in its own barrel.

Wolf, president of the Idaho Private Investigators Association, is spearheading a drive to make state licensing mandatory for anyone doing investigative work.

“There’s no statewide licensing for private investigators, which means, unfortunately, that any individual … they can be a private investigator,” Wolf told the Idaho Business Review.

In a profession where sensitive issues might be involved, credibility is important.

Investigators are more likely to be doing consulting for a business or investigating a computer crime than burning rubber in a red Ferrari.

“You look at the Rockford Files and the Magnum PIs. Information for them is gathered in 45 minutes or an hour, and they’re constantly getting information by breaking into other people’s homes and crawling through windows.

“We can’t do that,” said Wolf. He’s vice president at Lord and Associates Inc., Boise.

With no controls over who becomes a private investigator, there is little Idaho can do about unethical investigative practices until after the fact.

Ada County and some cities have ordinances covering private investigators.

In Ada County, paying a $12 fee, providing five letters of reference and getting a $50 bond qualifies a person as a private investigator.

The association, founded by Steve Lord four years ago, does background checks on new members and provides ongoing training and information network.

The association plans its 1996 Investigative Technology seminar in Boise Oct. 4-5.

Wolf said an investigator could be doing something illegal under new laws and techniques. “The training goes on and on and on,” Wolf said.

He contends that a state licensing board could do background checks or provide licensing guidelines.