The current Colorado private investigator licensing program went into effect on June 1, 2015 and as with every licensing program, was given a sunset date. That is a date when legislators look at the program to see if it is working and worth continuing. The sunset date attached to that bill (which is the current law) was September 1, 2020. Therefore, the new bill (HB20-1207) was drafted in 2020 for the legislators to ask to continue the program past the sunset date and CPI supported this bill and the continuation of licensing. Although this bill passed the House of Representatives and the Senate with over 75% approval on both floors, the Governor chose to veto this extension of the law. That is enough support (66% is needed) in both chambers to over ride a veto however, the legislative session had already ended and the veto becomes the final word on HB20-1207. Keep in mind this is new legislation and the only way it would affect the CURRENT law would be to extend the law for another five years, if this bill had passed.

The original law which went effect on June 1, 2015 is still in effect, past the stated sunset date. Though DORA (Colorado’s regulating body) never notified any of the over 1000 Colorado license investigators of the veto or how this would affect our licenses, CPI has learned the following. DORA posted an FAQ on their web site which indicates that the current PI licenses (set to expire on May 31, 2021) are still in effect and all licensing laws are being enforced during their year long wind up period. According to the FAQ the licensing law may even stay in effect a short time after that.

Bottom line is the Colorado PI licensing law is still in effect until at least May 31, 2021 and DORA will continue to take complaints, applications for new licenses and continue to enforce all laws regarding this program, including complaints for unlicensed activity.

This licensing law has been heavily geared toward protecting YOU, the consumer, who is considering hiring a private investigator in Colorado. This gave consumers a place (DORA) to check that investigator is properly licensed, which means that they have gone through a background check, they carry a bond and it also gives the consumer a place to file a complaint, when necessary. After May 31, 2021 (or shortly thereafter according to DORA) none of these protections will be in place for the consumer. When hiring a private investigator, be sure to know they are legitimate and those being members of state, national or world associations, are often times an indicator of a trustworthy investigator. CPI is a member of the Professional Private Investigators Association of Colorado (PPIAC), the National Council of Investigation and Security Services (NCISS) and a past member of the World Association of Detectives (WAD).

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The entity that has oversight of this program in Colorado is the Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA) and with this program set to sunset in September of 2020, it brings a review to see if the program is still necessary. This review and recommendation from DORA was made public on October 15, 2019 and they recommended to discontinue the program citing very few incidents of bad actors in the profession. In order to understand how wrong this recommendation is, you have to go back to the legislative session of 2014, when mandatory PI licensing was only a bill being heard by the Colorado legislature. During those sessions the legislature was provided with numerous bad actors who were in the profession or claimed to be PIs. These bad actors, as well as the need for consumer protection was the reason this bill passed and made into the current law.

Up until that time, being an unlicensed state meant any PI with a criminal history who was not able to get licensed in another state or was barred from practicing in a licensed state, could come to Colorado and set up shop with just a business card. Our citizens had no way of vetting the person, and just simply took a leap of faith that the person presenting themselves as a PI was honorable and not a scam artist. Today the consumer simply needs to log onto the web site for DORA and can vet a licensed PI, or in turn find out the person is not legally licensed. This also gives the consumer a place to report a PI who is acting inappropriately. With licensing comes the requirement that the PI has a $10,000 surety bond, which is another protection for the consumer. These assurances are in place for the Colorado consumer and DORA’s own report in October of 2019, states a lack of bad actors. Yet DORA has recommended to end the program??

A new bill has been introduced into the 2020 legislative session to continue the program and during the hearings for this bill, DORA was asked the obvious question. You mean to tell me there were bad actors before licensing was mandatory and now you say there are minimal bad actors, suggesting the program is working, and you want to discontinue the program? The state representative who asked that question, signed on to become a co-sponsor of the bill to continue PI licensing at the end of that meeting.

Colorado has a unique structure in that a program like private investigator licensing can receive no (ZERO) general funds from the state or taxpayer dollars. Therefore, the program has to be self-sustaining through the licensing fees. Since Colorado had not had any licensing for 37 years, it was unknown how many PIs there were working in the state. DORA initially came out with an estimate the first year of 400 and set the fees appropriately so 400 licensees would share the cost of running the program evenly. However, five years into the program there are now over 1000 licensed Colorado private investigators, which reduces the fees significantly for each licensee. In fact, DORA just posted the renewal fees for the licenses of June 1, 2020 at $16. Yes, the cost of a few cups of coffee is what it costs the Colorado licensed private investigator to renew their license.

The current bill that was working its way through the Colorado legislature, before the COVID-19 pandemic, has bipartisan support in both the House of Representatives and the State Senate.

In summary, Colorado had bad actors before mandatory licensing and has minimal bad actors now. Colorado had ZERO consumer protection before mandatory licensing and now the consumer has a very easy way to vet a private investigator, a way to file a complaint, as well as protections against any financial wrong doing by a problematic PI, by going after their bond. There are 2½ times more investigators licensed than anticipated, and every year the fees have gone down because of that growing number of licensees, to $16 for a renewal in 2020. And DORA has recommended to discontinue the program.

Government oversight at its best!!

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Ask anybody who has never had the opportunity to know, hire or deal with a private investigator, and you will get the TV version of what we have all come to know. The shady character who meets with the client in a darkened back alley, to receive $100 in cash, to hand over some private, illegally obtained information. If TV is the only exposure a person has had to private investigators, it is not surprising that the general public believes private investigators will hack or illegally access ANY information the client wants. For most private investigators, this could not be further from the truth.

Today’s private investigators are generally professionals who have a strong desire to help people but an even stronger desire to stay out of prison, and therefore will do what we can to LEGALLY help our clients. We spend a significant amount of time educating clients about what we can and can not do. Keep in mind, if your private investigator is willing to break the law, not only will the evidence that is gathered be thrown out of court, but you are just as complicit as the investigator and might find yourself spending time in the gray bar hotel.

An ethical, professional investigator is happy to spend time talking to client’s about the ways we might be able to help, and at CPI if it is out of our area of expertise, we will gladly refer you to an associate who specializes in the type of investigations you need. We understand that not everyone understands what we can legally access and largely due to the television version of the private investigator, there are a lot of misconceptions, leading to a lot of expectations by the public. We WILL do everything we can to legally assist you with your goals and most times can come up with ways to investigate your case, so you will have evidence that can be presented in court, to get you your desired results.

CPI has supported the mandatory licensing of private investigators in Colorado. Licensing is done at the state level and there are only a handful of states that still do not have mandatory licensing of PI’s. To check for a Colorado licensed private investigator you can contact the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies. We also spend a significant amount of time at our State Capitol talking to Colorado Representatives and Senators about bills that they sponsor or laws that have been passed.

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We hear it every year and justifiably so, be sure not to leave your children or pets in a hot car in the summer. Those of us in the surveillance business would agree 100% with that statement, but then there is always a part of us thinking, “What are we doing?”

Many clients or those not in the business of investigations do not understand the reality of how surveillance is conducted and how often the surveillance investigator is at the mercy of the elements to an extreme degree. Surveillance by nature, often times requires the investigator to sit stationary in a vehicle for numerous hours at a time, without moving or starting the vehicle and many times that vehicle has to be completely closed up. Ironic, it sounds exactly like the warnings that we get every year of what NOT to do. Many people who watch the TV version of the private investigator will see the investigator sitting in ideal temperatures and ideal conditions or sitting in a residential area with the engine running for heat or cooling. I can tell you that after 30+ years of conducting surveillance it is extremely rare (but very welcome) when you are working in a location where that is applicable. Imagine if somebody was sitting in front of your house for 8-10 hours with the engine running. It just might arouse your suspicion and the entire concept of a private investigator who is conducting surveillance is to be discreet and unrecognizable.

Private investigators who conduct surveillance are always looking for the newest and best portable cooling or heating (for winter) devices, however few have been ideal for 8-10 hours of performance.

That is why if you say to somebody that you shouldn’t leave their children or pets in their hot vehicles and they agree with you, but get a little bit of a smirk, you just might be talking to a surveillance investigator.

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Extremely Honored to receive the 2014 Private Investigator of the Year award from the Professional Private Investigators Association of Colorado.

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If you are new to the private investigator business or are looking for some information about being a private investigator, plan on attending a FREE one day seminar. This is put on by PPIAC and will be in conjunction with this year’s annual PPIAC conference in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Look for the Private Investigator Core Curriculum on Wednesday, October 17th, 2012 on the following link   http://ppiac.org/training/private-investigator-conference-colorado-springs

While you are there, check out the rest of the conference which will go through Saturday and promises to be very informative and entertaining.

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