MPs call for tough action on ‘rogue’ private investigators

Private investigators’ links to police must be broken and officers must declare any dealings they may have with them, according to a new report.

It also recommended a one-year “cooling-off period” between retirement from the police service and working in private investigations.

The Home Affairs Select Committee (HASC) report, Private Investigators, published last week said there were a number of risks in the involvement of private investigators in the justice system and law enforcement, which include the threat of corruption.

MPs said it is getting easier for anyone to advertise themselves as a private investigator – with modern communications and cheap surveillance devices – while the industry remains unregulated.

The HASC called on the Government to set up a robust licensing and registration system as soon as possible. It added that private investigators and their companies should be governed by a new Code of Conduct for private investigators under which a criminal record for breach of section 55 of the Data Protection Act, which deals with the unlawful obtaining, disclosure and selling of personal data and the procurement of such actions, should disqualify individuals from operating as private investigators.

Other recommendations included:

•dealings between police and investigators should be recorded and there should be a one-year cooling-off period between serving as a police officer and entering the investigation industry;

•the Government should strengthen the penalties associated with the sharing of personal data offences; and

•the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) should take direct control over investigations in cases alleging police corruption in relation to private investigators.

Keith Vaz, chair of the HASC, said: “Recent high-profile events, such as the phone hacking scandal, have thrown light on the sometimes shady world of private investigators. We have found that rogue private investigators are the brokers in a black market in information. They illegally snoop on our data, cash in on our private lives and only get away with a paltry fine.

“The public must be assured that those acting as ‘private investigators’ are subject to stringent checks, act under a code of conduct, and will face tough penalties if they step out of line.”

He added that it is the right time for the link between private investigators and the police service to be broken and that officers must be compelled to declare any dealings with private investigators.

Mr Vaz concluded: “It is time this industry was regulated, so that the honest majority can get on with their work. We expect the Government to act urgently.”

In February this year, trade bodies representing private investigators told the Leveson Inquiry they wanted a statutory-backed licensing system but added they wanted to remain self-regulated.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “We will carefully consider the committee’s report. Given the relevance of this issue to the matters being considered by the Leveson Inquiry, we will await its findings to ensure they can be taken into account in the development of a suitably effective regulatory regime.”