|
Private
Detectives
|
NAME
|
BUSINESS
ADDRESS
|
EXPIRES
|
| Armed Security, Inc.
D/B/A/Bulter Security |
115 Cedar Drive
Dover, PA 17315 |
06/01/13 |
|
Gregory
W. Ayers
|
129
Hershey Circle Stewartstown, PA
17363
|
1 2/31/12
|
|
Michael
J. Bonjo
|
55 Melrose
Lane York,
PA 17402
|
09/30/12
|
|
Diversco,
Inc
d/b/a
Spartan Security
|
413
Hill Street
York,
PA 17403
|
03/25/12 |
|
Dunbar Guard Services
|
6 Interchange Place York,
PA 17402 |
03/31/ 13 |
| David Christensen |
485 Capitol Hill Rd
Dillsburg, PA 17019
|
12/31/13 |
| Executive Inves. Bureau |
3979 Little John Drive
York, PA 17408
|
01/31/14 |
| Kenneth L. Grossman |
49 Lynwood Drive
York, PA 17402 |
06/30/13 |
| Eric Giallanza |
2851 Eastern Blvd.
York, PA 17402 |
07/07/13 |
|
Robert
E. Harman
|
1179 Glendale Rd. York,
PA 17403 (717)848-4984
|
04/15/12 |
|
Charles
F. Kleber
|
45 Kirmis
Court Dover,
PA 17315
|
06/30/13
|
|
Gerald
J. Kufta d/b/a Kufta Assoc. d/b/a Kufta
Incorp.
|
4070
West Market Street York, PA
17404
|
12/ 31/12
|
|
William
C. Leighton C/O Apex Investigation
Service
|
23 Farmington
Lane York,
PA 17407
|
05/21/ 12 |
|
Ray
E. Markel d/b/a REM Investigations
|
3652 Aldinger R d. Seven
Valleys, PA 17360
|
03/10/13 |
|
Anthony
B. Marceca
|
2219 Dixie
Drive York,
PA 17402
|
1 2/31/12 |
|
Master
Security, LLc |
276 Brauw Drive York,
PA 17406 |
04/29/12
|
|
Robert
E. McCaleb |
533 South Baltimore St. Dillsburg,
PA 17019
|
03/26/12
|
|
Donn
Jerre Miller |
PO Box
705
101 1 Braggtown Rd. Dillsburg,
PA 17019 |
08/30/13
|
|
James
H. Morgan |
921
Marbrook
Lane York,
PA 17404 |
12/31/13 |
| George Morrison |
11 North Season Drive
Dillsburg, PA. 17019
|
06/30/13 |
|
Paragon
Investigative & Security
|
350 Hill-N-Dale D r. York,
PA 17403
|
12/31/13 |
|
Parker,
Richard |
213 Cedar Village Drive York, PA
17406 |
09/30/12
|
| Rood, James E., SR |
10505 Enfield Rd.
Felton, PA 17321 |
04/12/12 |
|
Ross, Todd
d/b/a/ Eye See You
Detective Agency
|
2703 Woodspring Drive
York, PA 17403 |
05/03/12 |
|
Wayne
W. Ruppert
Wayne W. Ruppert, Jr.
Gail Ruppert d/b/a Ruppert Detective
Agency
|
1505 S. George Street York,
PA 17403
|
02/25/12
|
|
Stansbury
Investigative
|
324 Azalea
Drive Hanover,
PA 17331
|
06/30/13 |
|
Charles
R. Tuer |
11
Winchester Rd.
Shrewsbury,
PA 17361 |
12/31/12
|
|
Russel
L. Wantz, Jr.
Williams Sleeger, Jr.
Anthony Glowczewski
d/b/a Schadd Detective Agency,
INC.
|
1114 Roosevelt Avenue York,
PA 17404
|
08/12/ 12 |
Updated: 12/30/2011 Private
Detectives Listing (requires Adobe Reader) Updated:
12/30/2011
Pending
applications for licenses (requires Adobe Reader)
Licenses
issued (requires Adobe Reader)
Licenses
revoked (requires Adobe Reader)
Lethal Weapons Training Act Website
Private
Detective Filing Fees (requires Adobe Reader)
Clerk
of Courts' Procedure Manual re: Private Detective Filings
(requires Adobe Reader)
Individual
Sample Petition (requires Adobe Reader)
Corporate
Sample Petition (requires Adobe Reader)
| The
applicable law concerning Licensed Private Detectives in
the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is the Private
Detective Act of 1953, as amended, and is outlined in
the Pennsylvania Statutes Annotated, Title 22. The
Act was originally passed on August 21, 1953 (P.L.
1273, No. 361). |
The
Private Detective Act of 1953, as amended
§ 11. Short
TitleThis act shall be
known and may be cited as "The Private Detective Act of 1953".
top
§ 12. Definitions(a) "Private detective business" shall mean and
include the business of private detective, private detective
business, the business of investigator, or the business of
watch, guard, or patrol agency.
(b) "Private detective business" shall
also mean and include, separately or collectively, the making
for hire, reward, or for any consideration whatsoever, of any
investigation or investigations for the purpose of obtaining
information with reference to any of the following matters,
notwithstanding the fact that other functions and services may
also be performed for fee, hire, or reward:
(1) Crimes or wrongs done or
threatened against the government of the United States of
America or any state or territory of the United States of
America.
(2) The identity, habits, conduct,
movements, whereabouts, affiliations, associations,
transactions, reputation, or character, of any person, group
of persons, association, organization, society, other groups
of persons, partnership, or corporation.
(3) The credibility of witnesses or
other persons.
(4) The whereabouts of missing
persons.
(5) The location or recovery of lost
or stolen property.
(6) The causes and origin of, or
responsibility for, fires, or libels, or losses, or
accidents, or damage, or injuries, to real or personal
property.
(7) The affiliation, connection, or
relation, of any person, partnership, or corporation, with
any union, organization, society, or association, or with
any official member or representative thereof.
(8) With references to any person or
persons seeking employment in the place of any person or
persons who have quit work by reason of any
strike.
(9) With reference to the conduct,
honesty, efficiency, loyalty, or activities, of employees,
agents, contractors and subcontractors.
(10) The securing of evidence to be
used before any authorized investigating committee, board of
award, board of arbitration, or in the trial of civil or
criminal cases.
(11) The furnishing, for hire or
reward, of watchmen, or guards, or private patrolmen, or
other persons, to protect persons or property, or to prevent
the theft or the unlawful taking of goods, wares and
merchandise, or to prevent the misappropriation or
concealment of goods, wares or merchandise, money, bonds,
stocks, chooses in action, notes, or other valuable
documents, papers, and articles of value, or to procure the
return thereof, or the performing of the service of such
guard or other person, or any of said purposes.
The forgoing shall not be deemed to
include persons engaged in the business of investigators for
or adjusters for insurance companies, nor persons in the
exclusive employment of common carries subject to regulation
by the interstate commerce commission or the Public Utility
Commission of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, nor any
telephone, telegraph or other telecommunications company
subject to regulation by the Federal Communications
Commission or the Public Utility Commission of the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania or an employee of any such
company while performing any investigatory activities
engaged in by his employer, or investigators in the
employment of credit bureaus.
(c) The terms "the business of detective
agency", the "business of investigator", the "business of
watch, guard or patrol agency:, and the terms "private
detective" or "investigator" shall mean and include any
person, partnership, association, or corporation, engaged in
the private detective business, as defined in subsections (a)
and (b) of this section, with or without the assistance of any
employee or employees.
(d) The term "commissioner" shall mean
the Commissioner of the Pennsylvania State Police.
(e) The term "patrol agency" shall mean
and include any agency and/or individuals (including therein
security guards, uniformed or non-uniformed) employed full
time or part time, on a temporary or permanent basis, who, for
any consideration whatsoever, patrols, guards, protects,
monitors, regulates, secures or watches over persons and/or
property, either real or personal. This term specifically
includes any person employed in any capacity, for any length
of time, to protect property, either real or personal, against
labor strikes or against any person or persons who have become
a party to any labor strike. top
§ 13.
Licenses(a)
No person, partnership, association or corporation, shall
engage in the business of private detective, or the business
of investigator, or the business of watch, guard or patrol
agency, for the purpose of furnishing guards or patrolmen or
other persons to protect persons or property, or to prevent
the theft of the unlawful taking of goods, wares and
merchandise, or to prevent the misappropriation or concealment
of goods, wares or merchandise, money, bonds, stocks,
documents, and other articles of value, for hire or reward, or
advertise his or their business to be that of detective, or of
a detective agency, or investigator, or watch, guard or patrol
agency, notwithstanding the mane or title used in describing
such agency, or notwithstanding the fact that other functions
and services may also be performed for fee, hire or reward,
without having first obtained a license so to do as
hereinafter provided.
(b) No person, partnership, association,
or corporation, shall engage in the business of furnishing or
supplying for fee, hire, or any consideration or reward,
information as to the personal character or activities of any
person, partnership, corporation, society, or association, or
any person or group of persons, or as to the character or kind
of the business and occupation of any person, partnership,
corporation, society, or association or any person or group of
persons, or as to the character or kind of the business and
occupation of any person, partnership, or corporation, or own
or conduct or maintain a bureau or agency for the above
mentioned purposes, except exclusively as to the financial
rating, standing, and credit responsibility of persons,
partnerships, associations, or corporations, or as to the
personal habits and financial responsibility of applicants for
insurance, indemnity bonds, or commercial credit, or of
claimants under insurance policies: Provided, That the
business so exempted does not embrace other activities
described in subsections (a), (b) and (c) of section two of
this act (§12 of this title -
Definitions) without having first obtained, as hereafter
provided, a license to do so, for each such bureau or agency,
and for each and every sub-agency, office and branch office to
owned, conducted, managed, or maintained by such persons,
partnership, association, or corporation, for the conduct of
said business.
(c) Nothing contained in this section
shall be deemed to include the business of investigators for
or adjusters for insurance companies, nor persons in the
exclusive employment of common carries subject to regulation
by the interstate commerce commission or the Public Utility
Commission of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, nor any
telephone, telegraph or other telecommunications company
subject to regulation by the Federal Communications Commission
or the Public Utility Commission of the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania or an employee of any such company while
performing any investigatory activities engaged in by his
employer, or investigators in the employment of credit
bureaus. top
§ 14. Application for
LicensesAny person,
partnership, association or corporation, intending to conduct
a private detective business, the business of investigator, or
the business of watch, guard or patrol agency, or the business
of a detective agency, and any person, partnership,
association, or corporation, intending to conduct the business
of furnishing or supplying information as the personal
character of any person, partnership, corporation, society, or
association or any person or group of persons, or intending to
own, conduct, manage or maintain a bureau or agency for the
above mentioned purposes, or, while engaged in other lawful
business activities, also intending to engage in any one or
more of the activities set forth in subsections (a), (b) and
(c) of section two of this act (§12 of
this title - Definitions), except exclusively as to the
financial rating, standing and credit responsibility of
persons, partnerships, associations, or corporations, shall,
for each such bureau or agency, and for each and every
sub-agency, office and branch office to be owned, conducted,
managed or maintained by such person, partnership,
association, or corporation for the conduct of such business,
file, in the office of the clerk of the court of common pleas
of the county wherein the principal office or such business is
located, a written application, duly signed and verified, as
follows:
(a) If the applicant is a person, the
application shall be signed and verified by such person, and
if the applicant is a partnership or association, the
application shall be signed and verified by each individual
composing or intending to compose such partnership or
association. The application shall state the full name, age,
residence, present and previous occupations, of each person
or individual so signing the same, that he is a citizen of
the United States, and shall also specify the name of the
city, borough, township, or incorporated town, stating the
street and number if the premises have a street and number,
and otherwise such apt description as will reasonably
indicate the location thereof, where is to be located the
principal place of business, and the bureau, agency,
sub-agency, office or branch office for which the license is
desired, and such further facts as may be required by the
court of common pleas, to show the good character,
competency and integrity of each person or individual so
signing such application. Each person or individual signing
such application shall, together with such application,
submit to the court of common pleas his photograph, in
duplicate, in passport size, and also fingerprints of his
two hands, recorded in such manner as may be specified by
the court of common pleas. Before approving such
application, it shall be the duty of the court of common
pleas to compare such fingerprints with fingerprints of
criminals now or hereafter filed in the records of the
Pennsylvania State Police. Every such applicant shall
establish, to the satisfaction of the court of common pleas
and by at least two duly acknowledged certificates, that
such applicant, if he be a person, or, in the case of a
partnership, association, or corporation, at least one
member of such partnership, association, or corporation, has
been regularly employed as a detective, or shall have been a
member of the United State government investigative service,
a sheriff, a member of the Pennsylvania State Police, or a
member of a city police department of a rank or grade higher
than that of patrolman, for a period of not less than three
years. Such application shall be approved as to each person
or individual so signing the same by not less that five
reputable citizens of the community in which such applicant
resides or transacts business, or in which it is proposed to
own, conduct, manage or maintain the bureau, agency,
sub-agency, office or branch office for which the license is
desired, each of whom shall certify that he has personally
known the said person or individual for a period of at least
five years prior to the filing of such application, that he
has read such application and believes each of the
statements made therein to be true, that such person is
honest, of good character, and competent, and not related or
connected to the person so certifying by blood or marriage.
The certificate of approval shall be signed by such
reputable citizens and duly verified and acknowledged by
them before an officer authorized to take oaths and
acknowledgment of deeds.
(b) If the applicant is a corporation,
the application shall be signed and verified by the
president, secretary and treasurer thereof, and shall
specify the name of the corporation, the date and place of
its incorporation, the location of its principal place of
business, and the name of the city, borough, township, or
incorporated town, stating the street and number if the
premises have a street and number, and otherwise such apt
description as will reasonably indicate the location
thereof, where is to be located the principal place of
business, and the bureau, agency, sub-agency, office or
branch office for which the license is desired, the amount
of the corporation's outstanding paid up capital stock and
whether paid in cash or property, and, if in property, the
nature of the same, and shall be accompanied by a duly
certified copy of its certificate of incorporation. Each and
every requirement of clause (a) of this section as to a
person or individual member of a partnership or association
shall apply to the president, secretary and treasurer, and
each such officer, his successor and successors, shall,
prior to entering upon the discharge of his duties, sign and
verify a like statement, approved in like manner, as is by
clause (a) prescribed in the case of a person or individual
member of a partnership or association. In the event of the
death, resignation or removal of such officer, due notice of
that fact shall forthwith be given in writing to the court
of common pleas, together with a copy of the minutes of any
meeting of the board of directors of said corporation,
certified by the secretary, indicating the death,
resignation or removal of such officer, and the election or
designation of the successor of such deceased, resigned or
removed officer. top
§ 15. Enforcement of Act;
Investigations(a) The district
attorneys of the various counties shall have the power to
enforce the provisions of this act, and upon complaint of any
person, or on his own initiative, to investigate any violation
thereof, or to investigate the business, business practices
and business methods of any person, partnership, association
or corporation applying for or holding a license as a private
detective or investigator if, in the opinion of the district
attorney, such investigation is warranted. Each such applicant
or licensee shall be obliged, on request of the district
attorney, to supply such information as may be required
concerning his or its business, business practices or business
methods, or proposed business practices or methods.
(b) For the purpose of enforcing the
provisions of this act and in making investigations relating
to any violation thereof, and for the purpose of investigating
the character, competency and integrity of the applicants or
licenses hereunder, and for the purpose of investigating the
business, business practices and business methods of any
applicant or licensee, or of the officers or agents thereof,
the district attorney, acting by such officer of person in the
office of the district attorney as the district attorney may
designate, shall have the power to subpoena and bring before
the officer or person so designated any person in the county,
and require the production of any books or papers which he
deems relevant to the inquiry, and administer an oath to, and
take testimony of, any person, or cause his deposition to be
taken, with the same fees and mileage and in the same manner
as prescribed by law for civil cases in a court of record,
except that any applicant, or licensee, or officer, or agent
thereof, shall not be entitled to such fees or mileage. Any
person duly subpoenaed who fails to obey such subpoena with
reasonable cause, or without such cause refuses to be examined
or to answer any legal or pertinent question as to the
character or qualification of such applicant or licensee or
such applicant's or licensee's business, business practices
and methods, or such violations, shall be guilty of a
misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof, shall be sentenced
to pay a fine of not more than five hundred dollars ($500) or
to undergo imprisonment for not more that one (1) year, or
both. The testimony of witnesses in any such proceeding shall
be under oath, which the district attorney or his subordinate
designated by the district attorney may administer, and
willful, false swearing in any such proceeding shall be
punishable as perjury. top
§ 16. Issuance of Licenses; Fees;
Bonds(a) When the
application shall have been examined, and such further inquiry
and investigation made as the court of common pleas or the
district attorney shall deem proper, and when the court of
common pleas shall be satisfied there from of the good
character, competency and integrity of such applicant, or, if
the applicant be a partnership, association or corporation, of
the individual members or officers thereof, and a period of
ten days from the date of the filing of the application shall
have passed, the court of common pleas shall issue and deliver
to such applicant a certificate of license to conduct such
business, and to own, conduct or maintain a bureau, agency,
sub-agency, office or branch office for the conduct of such
business on the premises stated in such application, upon the
applicant's paying to the court of common pleas for each such
certificate of license so issued, for the use of the county, a
license fee of two hundred dollars ($200), if the applicant be
an individual, or of three hundred dollars ($300), if a
partnership, association or corporation, and upon the
applicant's executing, delivering and filing in the office of
the clerk of the court of common pleas a corporate bond in the
sum of ten thousand dollars ($10,000), conditioned for the
faithful and honest conduct of such business by such
applicant, which surety bond must be written by a corporate
surety company authorized to do business in this Commonwealth
as surety, and approved by the court of common pleas with
respect to its form, manner of execution and sufficiency. The
license granted pursuant to this act shall last for a period
of two years, but shall be revocable at all times by the court
of common pleas for cause shown. In the event of such
revocation or of a surrender of such license, no refund shall
be made in respect of any license fee paid under the
provisions of this act. Such bond shall be executed to the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and any person injured by the
violation of any of the provisions of this act, or by the
willful, malicious and wrongful act of the principal or
employee, may bring an action against such principal,
employee, or both, on said bond, in his own name, to recover
damages suffered by reason of such willful, malicious and
wrongful act: Provided, That the aggregate liability of the
surety for all such damages shall in no event exceed the sum
of such bond. In each and every suit of prosecution arising
out of this act, the agency of any employee as to the
employment and as to acting in the course of his employment
shall be presumed.
The license certificate shall be in a
form to be prescribed by the court of common pleas, and shall
specify the full name of the applicant, the location of the
principal office or place of business, and the location of the
bureau, agency, sub-agency, office or branch office for which
the license is issued, the date on which it is issued, the
date on which it will expire, and the names and residences of
the applicant or applicants filing the statement required by
section four (§ 14 of this title -
Applications) upon which the license is issued, and in the
event of a change of any such address or residence, the court
of common pleas shall be duly notified in writing of such
change within twenty-four hours thereafter, and failure to
give such notification shall be sufficient cause for
revocation of such license. No such license shall be issued to
a person under the age of twenty-five years.
(b) Except as hereinafter provided in
this subsection, no such license shall be issued to any person
who has been convicted in this State or any other state or
territory of a felony, or any of the following offenses: (1)
illegally using, carrying or possessing a pistol or other
dangerous weapon; (2) making or possessing burglar's
instruments; (3) buying or receiving stolen property; (4)
unlawful entry of a building; (5) aiding escape from prison;
(6) unlawfully possessing or distributing habit forming
narcotic drugs; (7) picking pockets or attempting to do so;
(8) soliciting any person to commit sodomy or other lewdness;
(9) recklessly endangering another person; (10) making
terroristic threats; or (11) committing simple
assault.
Except as hereinafter in this subsection
provided, no license shall be issued to any person whose
license has been previously revoked by the court of common
pleas or the authorities of any other state or territory
because of conviction of any of the crimes or offenses
specified in this section. The provisions of this subsection
shall not prevent the issuance of a license to any person who,
subsequent to his conviction, shall have received executive
pardon therefore removing this disability.
(c) There shall be kept in the office of
the clerk of the court of common pleas a bulletin board, in a
place accessible to the general public, on which shall be
posted, at noon on Friday of each week, the following: a
statement of all pending applications for licenses under this
act, giving the name of the applicant, and whether individual,
partnership, association or corporation, and the proposed
business address, a similar statement of all such licenses
issued during the preceding week, a similar statement of all
such licenses revoked during the preceding week.
(d) No holder of an employment agency
license shall be licensed under this act. While holding a
license under this act, a licensee shall not, simultaneously,
hold an employment agency license, or have financial interest
in, or participate in the control and management of, any
employment agency, or any other person, partnership,
association or corporation engaged in private detective
business, except that a licensee hereunder may own or possess
stock in any corporation whose only business is to undertake,
for hire, the preparation of payrolls and the transportation
of payrolls, moneys, securities and other valuables, or whose
only business is to provide or furnish protective or guard
service to the government of the United States, or any
subdivision, department or agency of the government of the
United States. In the event of the filing in the office of the
clerk of the court of common pleas a verified statement of the
objection to he issuance of a license under the provisions of
this act, no license shall be issued to such applicant until
all objections shall have been heard in a hearing and a
determination made by the court of common pleas. top
§ 17. Refund of FeesMoneys heretofore or hereafter received by the
court of common pleas pursuant to this act may, within three
years from the receipt thereof, be refunded to the person
entitled thereto on satisfactory proof that:
(1) Such moneys were in excess of the
amount required by this act, to the extend of such
excess.
(2) The license for which application
was made has been denied.
(3) The applicant for the license has
predeceased its issuance.
(4) The licensee has enlisted in or
been otherwise inducted into active Federal military, naval
or marine service, or in any branch or division thereof, in
which event the refund shall be such proportion of the
license fee paid as the number of full months remaining
unexpired of the license period bears to the total number of
the months in such period.
Such refunds shall, upon approval by the
court of common pleas, be paid from any moneys received from
the operation of this act and in the custody of the county
treasures. top
§ 18. Posting and Surrender of License
CertificateImmediately
upon receipt of the license certificate issued by the court of
common pleas pursuant to this act, the licensee named therein
shall cause such license certificate to be posted up and at
all times displayed in a conspicuous place in the bureau,
agency, sub-agency, office or branch office for which it is
issued, so that all persons visiting such place may readily
see the same. Such license certificate shall, at all
reasonable times, be subject to inspection by the district
attorney or an authorized representative or representatives of
the Pennsylvania State Police and the Attorney General. It
shall be unlawful for any person, partnership, association or
corporation holding such license certificate to post such
certificate, or to permit such certificate to be posted, upon
premises other than those described therein, or to which it
has been transferred pursuant to the provision of this act, or
knowingly to alter, deface or destroy any such license
certificate. Every license certificate shall be surrendered to
the court of common pleas within seventy-two hours after its
term shall have expired, or after notice in writing to the
holder that such license has been revoked. Any licensee
failing to comply with any of the provisions of this section
shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction
thereof, shall be sentenced to pay a fine of not more that
five hundred dollars ($500) or to undergo imprisonment for not
more than (1) year, or both. Such failure shall be sufficient
cause for the revocation of a license.
top
§ 19. Certificate, Pocket Card or Badge Lost or
DestroyedIf it shall
be established to the satisfaction of the court of common
pleas, in accordance with rules and regulations promulgated
and established by such court, that an unexpired license
certificate, pocket card or badge issued in accordance with
the provisions of this act has been lost or destroyed without
fault on the part of the holder, the court of common pleas
shall issue a duplicate license certificate or pocket card for
the unexpired portion of the term of the original license
certificate, and shall issue a duplicate badge for the
unexpired portion of the term of the original license, upon
payment to the court of common pleas of an amount required for
such duplicate badge.
top
§ 20. Removal of Bureau, Agency or
OfficeIf the holder of
an unexpired license certificate issued pursuant to this act
shall remove the bureau, agency, sub-agency, office or branch
office to a place other than that described in the license
certificate, he shall, within the twenty-four hours
immediately following such removal, give written notice of
such removal to the court of common pleas. Such notice shall
describe the premises to which such removal is made, and the
date on which it was made. Such license certificate shall be
sent to the court of common pleas. A judge of such court shall
cause to be written or stamped across the face of such license
certificate a statement signed by him to the effect that the
holder of such license has removed, on the date stated in such
written notice, such bureau, agency, sub-agency, office or
branch office from the place originally described in such
license certificate to the place described in such written
notice, and such license certificate, with the endorsement
thereon, shall then be returned to the licensee named
therein.
top
§ 21. Renewal of Licenses(a) A license granted under the provisions of
this act may be renewed by the clerk of courts upon
application therefore by the holder thereof upon payment of
fee and filing of surety bond, each in amounts equivalent to
those specified in section 6 (§ 16 of
this title - Issuance of Licenses; Fees; Bonds) as
pertaining to original licenses.
(b) A brief renewal application form
shall be prescribed by the Attorney General. Fingerprints and
references shall not be required with a renewal application.
The clerk of courts shall reissue the license for a period of
up to five years, without a mandatory waiting period, unless
the clerk perceives a problem which requires submission of the
renewal application to the court.
(c) A renewal period, with the meaning
of this act, is considered as being six months from the date
of expiration of a previously issued license.
top
§ 22. License Certificates, Pocket Cards, Shields or
BadgesUpon the issuing
of a license as hereinbefore provided, the court of common
pleas shall issue to each such person, individual member of a
partnership or association, or officer of a corporation making
and filing a statement required by section 4 of this act
(§ 14 of this title -
Applications), a pocket card, of such size and design as
such court may prescribe, which card shall contain a
photograph of the licensee, the name and business address of
the licensee, and the imprint or impress of the seal of the
court, and also a metal shield or badge, of such shape and
description and bearing such inscription as the court may
designate, which pocket card and badge shall be evidence of
due authorization pursuant to the terms of this act. All
persons to whom such license certificates, pocket cards,
shields or badges shall have been issued shall be responsible
for the safe keeping of the same, and shall not loan, let or
allow any other person to use, wear or display such
certificate, pocket card, shield or badge. No person shall
wear or display any license certificate, pocket card, shield
or badge, purporting to authorize the holder or wearer thereof
to act as a private detective or investigator, unless the same
shall have been duly issued pursuant to the provisions of this
act. Failure to comply with the provisions of this section
shall be sufficient cause for revocation of such license, and
all such certificates, pocket cards, shields and badges shall
be returned to the court of common pleas within seventy-two
hours after the holder thereof has received notice in writing
of the expiration or revocation of such license. No person,
except as authorized in this section, shall wear or display a
shield or badge of any design or material, purporting to
indicate that the wearer or bearer thereof is a private
detective or investigator or is authorized to act as a private
detective or investigator, unless required by law to do so.
Any person violating the provisions of this section shall be
guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof, shall be
sentenced to pay a fine of not more that five hundred dollars
($500) or to undergo imprisonment for not more that one (1)
year, or both.
top
§ 23. Employees(a) The holder of any license certificate issued
pursuant to this act may employ to assist him in his work of
private detective or investigator as described in section 2
(§ 12 of this title - Definitions)
and in the conduct of such business as many persons as he may
deem necessary, and shall at all times during such employment
be legally responsible for the good conduct in the business of
each and every person so employed and shall be responsible for
the reasonable supervision of said employees' conduct.
No holder of any unexpired license
certificate issued pursuant to this act shall knowingly employ
in connection with his or its business, in any capacity
whatsoever, any person who has been convicted of a felony, or
any of the following offenses, and who has not, subsequent to
such conviction, received executive pardon therefore removing
this disability: (1) illegally using, carrying or possessing a
pistol or other dangerous weapon; (2) making or possessing
burglar's instruments; (3) buying or receiving stolen
property; (4) unlawful entry of a building; (5) aiding escape
from prison; (6) unlawfully possessing or distributing habit
forming narcotic drugs; (7) picking pockets or attempting to
do so; (8) soliciting any person to commit sodomy or other
lewdness; (9) any person whose private detective or
investigator's license was revoked or application for such
license was denied by the court of common pleas or by the
authorities of any other state or territory because of
conviction of any of the crimes or offenses specified in this
section; (10) recklessly endangering another person; (11)
terroristic threats; or (12) committing simple
assault.
A holder of an unexpired license
certificate issued pursuant to this act who knowingly employs
a person who has been convicted of a felony or any of the
offenses specified in this section shall be guilty of a
misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be sentenced
to pay a fine of not more that five thousand dollars ($5,000)
or to undergo imprisonment for not more than one (1) year, or
both.
A first conviction for violation of this
section may subject the license holder to revocation of his
license by the issuing authority.
Upon the second conviction of a license
holder for knowingly hiring a person convicted of a felony or
other specified offenses in this section, the license of said
holder shall be revoked.
Should the holder of an unexpired
license certificate falsely state or represent that a person
is or has been in his employ, such false statement or
misrepresentation shall be sufficient cause for the revocation
of such license. Any person falsely stating or representing
that he is or has been a detective or employed by a detective
agency shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction
thereof, shall be sentenced to pay a fine of not more that
five hundred dollars ($500) or to undergo imprisonment for not
more than one (1) year, or both.
(b) No person shall hereafter be
employed by any holder of a license certificate until he shall
have executed and furnished to such license certificate holder
a verified statement to be known as "employee's statement,"
setting forth:
(1) His full name, age and residence
address;
(2) The country of which he is a
citizen;
(3) The business or occupation engaged
in for the three years immediately preceding the date of the
filing of the statement setting forth the place or places
where such business or occupation was engaged in, and the
name or names of employers, if any;
(4) That he has not been convicted of
a felony, or of any offense involving moral turpitude, or of
any of the misdemeanors or offenses described in subsection
(a) of this section;
(5) That he holds current and valid
certification under the act of October 10, 1974 (P.L.
705, No. 235), known as the "Lethal Weapons Training
Act," if, as an incidence to employment, he will carry a
lethal weapon.
(6) Such further information as the
court of common pleas may by rule require to show the good
character, competency and integrity of the person executing
the statement.
(c) The license holder shall act with
due diligence in that the necessary steps to ensure the
veracity of the employee's statement, and immediately upon
the verification of an employee's statement, the holder of a
license certificate by whom such person has been or is to be
employed shall cause two sets of fingerprints of the two
hands of such person to be recorded in such manner as the
court of common pleas may by rule prescribe. The holder of a
license certificate shall immediately stamp, in indelible
ink, the employee's statement and each set of fingerprints
with the name, year and license certificate number of such
holder, and a number, which number shall be determined by
the number of such statements furnished to such holder and
shall be in numerical sequence.
(d) The holder of a license
certificate shall affix one set of such fingerprints to the
employee's statement, in such manner that the prints can be
examined without disclosing the contents of the employee's
statement, and shall retain such statement and prints so
long as he shall be licensed under this act.
(e) The holder of a license
certificate shall file the other set of fingerprints with
the court of common pleas. Proof of the employee's current
and valid certification under the "Lethal Weapons Training
Act," must also be submitted to the court if the employee
will carry a lethal weapon as an incidence to
employment.
(f) Within five days after the filing
of such fingerprints, the court of common pleas shall cause
such fingerprints to be compared with fingerprints of
criminals now or hereafter filed in the records of the
Pennsylvania State Police, and if the court finds any record
affecting such prints, it shall immediately notify the
holder of such license certificate and shall also refer the
matter to the district attorney of the county. The common
pleas court may also, from time to time, cause such
fingerprints to be checked against the fingerprints of
criminals now or hereafter filed in the records of the
Pennsylvania State Police or of other official fingerprint
files within or without this Commonwealth, and if the court
finds that such person has been convicted of a felony or any
other offense specified in subsection (a) of this section,
he shall immediately notify the holder of such license
certificate and shall also refer the matter to the district
attorney. The common pleas court shall at all times be given
access to and may from time to time examine the fingerprints
retained by the holder of a license certificate as provided
in subsection (d) of this section.
(g) If any holder of a certificate
shall file with the common pleas court the fingerprints of a
person other than the person so employed, he shall be
subject to a fine not exceeding five thousand dollars
($5,000) or to imprisonment not exceeding one (1) year, or
both.
top
§ 24. Employees Not To Divulge
Information or Make False ReportsAny person who is or has been an employee of a
holder of a license shall not divulge to any one other than
his employer or as his employer shall direct, except as he may
be required by law, any information acquired by him during
such employment in respect of any of the work to which he
shall have been assigned by such employer. Any such employee
violating the provisions of this section, and any such
employee who shall willfully make a false report to his
employer in respect of any of such work, shall be guilty of a
misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be sentenced
to pay a fine of not more that five hundred dollars ($500) or
to undergo imprisonment for not more that one (1) year, or
both. The employer of any employee believed to have violated
this section shall, without any liability whatsoever upon said
employer, supply the court of common pleas, and such court
shall, should the facts and circumstances be deemed to
warrant, conduct further investigation and submit the evidence
thus acquired to the district attorney for appropriate action
in accordance with the provision of section 18 of this act
(§ 28 of this title - Reward May Be
Presumed).
top
§ 25. Application of
ActNothing in this
act shall apply to any detective officer or man belonging to
the Pennsylvania State Police, or to the police force of any
county, city, borough, township, or incorporated town, or any
employee of such State Police, or such police force, appointed
or elected by due authority of law, while engaged in the
performance of their official duties, nor to any person,
partnership, association, or corporation or any bureau or
agency, whose business is exclusively the furnishing of
information as to the business and financial standing and
credit responsibility of persons, partnerships, associations,
or corporations, or as to the personal habits and financial
responsibility of applicants for insurance, indemnity bonds,
or commercial credit, or of any claimants under insurance
policies, and whose business does not embrace other activities
described in section 2 of this act (§12
of this title - Definitions), nor to any corporation duly
authorized by the Commonwealth to operate a fire alarm
protection business, or to any person while engaged in the
business of adjuster for an insurance company, nor to any
person regularly employed as special agent, detective or
investigator exclusively by one employer in connection with
the affairs of that employer only, nor to any charitable or
philanthropic society or association duly incorporated under
the laws of the Commonwealth and which is organized and
maintained for the public good and not for private profit, nor
shall anything in this act contained be construed to affect in
any way attorneys or counselors at law in the regular practice
of their profession, but such exemption shall not enure to the
benefit of any employee or representative of such attorney or
counselor at law who is not employed solely, exclusively and
regularly by such attorney or counselor at law, nor to persons
in the exclusive employment of common carriers subject to
regulation by the interstate commerce commission or the Public
Utility Commission of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, nor
any telephone, telegraph or other telecommunications company
subject to regulation by the Federal Communications Commission
or the Public Utility Commission of the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania or an employee of any such company while
performing any investigatory activities engaged in by his
employer, or investigators in the employment of credit
bureaus. No person, partnership, association corporation, or
any bureau or agency, exempted hereunder from the application
of this act, shall perform any manner of detective service as
described in section 2 (§ 12 of this
title - Definitions) hereof for any other person,
partnership, association, corporation, bureau or agency,
whether for fee, hire, reward, other compensation,
remuneration, or consideration, or as an accommodation without
fee, reward, or remuneration, or by a reciprocal arrangement
whereby such services are exchanged on request of parties
thereto. The commission of a single act prohibited by this act
shall constitute a violation thereof.
Nothing in this act shall be construed
to affect or prohibit the right of any person to form, or
become affiliated with, or to continue as a member of, any
union, association, society, or organization of his own
choosing.
top
§ 26. Unlawful ActsIt is unlawful for the holder of a license issued
under this act, or for any employee of such licensee,
knowingly to commit any of the following acts, within or
without the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania: to incite,
encourage, or aid in the incitement or encouragement of, any
person or persons who have become a party to any strike to do
unlawful acts against the person or property of any one, or to
incite, stir up, create, or aid in the inciting of discontent
or dissatisfaction among the employees of any person,
partnership, association, or corporation with the intention of
having them strike, to interfere or prevent lawful and
peaceful picketing during strikes, to interfere with,
restrain, or coerce employees in the exercise of their right
to form, join, or assist any labor organization of their own
choosing, to interfere or hinder the lawful or peaceful
collective bargaining between employees and employers, to pay,
offer, or give any money, gratuity, favor, consideration, or
other thing of value, directly or indirectly, to any person,
for any verbal or written report of the lawful activities of
employees in the exercise of their right of self-organization,
to form, join, or assist labor organizations, and to bargain
collectively through representatives of their own choosing, to
advertise for, recruit, furnish or replace, or offer to
furnish or replace, for hire or reward, within or without the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, any help or labor, skilled or
unskilled, or to furnish or offer to furnish armed guards,
other than armed guards theretofore regularly employed, for
the protection of payrolls, property or premises, for service
upon property which is being operated in anticipation of or
during the course or existence of a strike, or furnish armed
guards upon the highways for persons involved in labor
disputes, or to furnish or offer to furnish to employers or
their agents, any arms, munitions, tear gas, implements, or
any other weapons, or to send letters or literature to
employers offering to eliminate labor unions, or distribute or
circulate any list of members of a labor organization, or to
advise any person of the membership of an individual in a
labor organization for the express purpose of preventing those
so listed or named from obtaining or retaining employment. The
violation of any of the provisions of this section shall
constitute a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall
be punishable by a fine of not less than five hundred dollars
($500) nor more than five thousand dollars ($5,000), or to
imprisonment for not less than six (6) months nor more that
(1) year, or both. If the holder of a license shall violate
any of the provisions in this section, the license holder may
be subject to the revocation of his license by the issuing
authority. Upon the second conviction of a license holder for
violation of any of the provisions in this section, the
license of said holder shall be revoked.
top
§ 26.1 Penalty for Unlicensed
ActsAny person in
violation of the provision of section 3(a) (§
13 of this title - Licenses) by reason of
engaging in the private detective business without a license,
shall upon conviction thereof, be guilty of a misdemeanor of
the third degree.
top
§ 27. District Attorneys to
ProsecuteCriminal
action for violation of this act shall be prosecuted by the
district attorney of the county in which any violation of this
act occurred.
top
§ 28. Reward May Be PresumedIn any prosecution under this act, any person,
partnership, association, or corporation, who or which
performs or commits any of the acts set forth in sections 2
and 3 (§ 12 of this title - Definitions
and § 13 of this title - Licenses), shall be
presumed to do so for a fee, compensation, valuable
consideration, or reward.
top
§ 29. Roster of LicensesThe clerk of each court of common pleas shall
publish, at least once in each year, a roster of the names and
addresses of all persons, partnerships, associations and
corporations licensed by such court under the provisions of
this act. A copy of each roster published by each clerk shall
be mailed by him to any licensee upon request and without
charge, and a copy of each such roster shall also be mailed by
his to the commissioner, who shall keep a roster of the names
and addresses of all persons, partnerships, associations and
corporations in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania under the
provisions of this act. A copy of the roster kept by the
commissioner shall be mailed by him to any licensee upon
request and without charge.
top
§ 30. Disposition of Fees and Other
RevenueAll fees and
other money derived from the operation of this act shall, on
the first day of each month, be paid by the court of common
pleas into the county treasury.
top
Return to top
"The Clerk of the Court of
Quarter Sessions and Oyer and Terminer has existed in
Pennsylvania since the first organization of English
government in colonial
America..." |