Regulation of UK Private Investigations For Birmingham Private Investigators in West Midlands
2013 saw a declaration of intent by the Home Secretary of the government’s plans to have regulatory measures for private investigations (this includes Birmingham Private Investigators of West Midlands) through the SIA or Security Industry Authority. In December 2014, another announcement was made by the Home Office saying that the Government expects the establishment of a statutory licensing of private inspection activities to come into force as quickly as possible during the next Parliamentary session, which started in May 2015. Even so, private investigations licenses have still not been introduced in the UK.
The SIA and the Home Office continue to work together since the latter is responsible for regulating private investigations. Before the commencement date of regulation, the SIA will be in constant engagement with players in the security sector to be up to date on the “Get Licenced” criteria while continuing to widely share more details in the proposed private investigation regulations. Information on likely timings will also be provided by the SIA once these are agreed with the Home Office.
Who are those who will need a licence? (https://birmingham-privateinvestigators.co.uk)
The certifiable acts of private detectives have been defined by the Private Security Industry Act 2001 and state why private detectives need a license when licensing comes in, details are available from Birmingham Private Investigators https://birmingham-privateinvestigators.co.uk. For the list to remain updated, the Home Office will review the description as laid out in the act. That means that any questions about the particularities of the activities that will be licensable in the coming times should be addressed to the Home Office.
The provisions of the ACT is that a SIA license will be necessary for private investigators involved in investigations, surveillance and inquiries that are meant to.
- collecting information on a specific individual or the location or activities of a specific individual
- gaining information about the background, or means in which and by which property has been harmed or lost. A certification will be obligatory for anyone that is offering contracted private investigation services
- Employers, employees, supervisors, managers and directors of private investigation firms, coupled with their partners are part of these
Whether the Home Office will also want us to regulate ‘in-house’ private investigations is still unknown.
Director, for the purposes of the Private Security Industry Act 2001, means executive and non-executive directors, parent firm directors and business institutions that have directorship.
The following activities will not need a licence as per the Act.
- activities conducted entirely for market research purposes
- services to determine credit worthiness
- professional work in the line of a practicing barrister or solicitor’s duty
- expert activities of practising accountants
- professional activities of reporters and broadcasters, and activities that have a sole intention to provide information to broadcasters and reporters
- activities particularly relating to reference to registers which are open to the public; records or registers at which a person has a right of access; and published works
- actions taken with authorisation from the subject of the investigation or under their knowledge
Penalties
When one works as a private investigator without the necessary license, he will be given the following penalties.
- If found guilty by a Magistrate’s Court, Sheriff Court or District Court, a maximum sentence of six months in prison and a fine of £5,000
The sanction for supplying unregistered staff will be.
- upon the immediate judgment of a Magistrate’s Court, District Court or Sheriff Court, a maximum sanction of six months imprisonment and/or a fine of up to £5,000
- If found guilty at Crown Court, High Court of Justice or Sheriff and jury trial, an unlimited fine and/or a sentence of up to five years in prison
License ready Birmingham Private Investigators is pleased to declare that we have attended the required training and have passed all the examinations and standard and is now license ready. All our current and future customers will benefit from this, as we intend to carry out a transition that will not disrupt our day to day business activities.
If you are looking for more information on Birmingham’s Birmingham Private Investigators, who offer services in the locality covering areas such as Redditch, Morton Bagot, Henley-in-Arden and all other areas within West Midlands, can contact us today on 0121 259 0063. Yu can also visit our website at https://birmingham-privateinvestigators.co.uk for more details on our services and a good read on what our customers say about their experience with us.