1. Licensing & Regulation Division Senior Sergeant Brett Kahan Presentation to the Association of Investigators & Security Professionals

2. Licensing & Regulation Division Responsible for the regulation of the firearm, private security and weapon industries. Provides direct services to the more than 300,000 members of these industries through the administration of the Firearms Act 1996, Private Security Act 2004, Control of Weapons Act 1990 and their association Regulations

3. Licensing & Regulation Division Compliance Enforcement Monitoring the compliance of licence, permit and authority holders through audits and inspections; Detecting, investigating and analysing potential breaches of the legislation; Identifying risks to the integrity of the licensing process; Communicating the legal obligations of holding a licence, permit, registration or authority as well as the consequences of failing to meet these.

4. Licensing & Regulation Division Compliance Enforcement Private Security Unit Granting private security licences and registrations, including renewals. Approval of training and trainers. Development of training aids. Compliance and Enforcement activities, including investigation of regulatory and criminal complaints

12. Suspended & Cancelled Investigator Licences 2014 21 private security individual operator licences with the activity of “investigator” were suspended. Of these 21 suspensions, 15 private security individual operator licences with the activity of “investigator” were cancelled.

13. The Private Investigator 1. Fraud investigation work for insurance and welfare agencies; 2. Legal work including factual inquiries, locating persons and serving legal documents or recovering property; 3. Commercial work involving a miscellany of services such as de-bugging, pre-employment checks and specialized investigations (such as for copyright violations); and 4. Domestic work including finding missing persons, abduction recoveries or spouse fidelity checks.

14. Misconduct and Ethics Like policing, private investigating appears highly vulnerable to misconduct. The 1983 Australian Law Reform Commission Report into Privacy found that private agents can be strongly tempted to engage in breaches of privacy, including:  Trespass;  Conspiracy;  Unlawful Disclosure;  Interception of telecommunications;  Use of listening devices.

15. Duties of the Investigator 1. The duty to follow instructions; 2. The duty to act in person; 3. The duty to act in the interests of the principal; 4. The duty to take care of the principal’s property; 5. The duty to keep proper accounts and have those accounts available for inspection (to the client and the regulator).

16. Case Study – Formal Complaint Private Investigator engaged by a widow Instructions were to identify the possible whereabouts of 1000’s of head of cattle Cattle jointly owned by the deceased and other members of the family $7000 “down payment” Further $3000 advance one month later No correspondence provided, no invoice, false promises Refusal by P.I. to provide information or accounts Private Security Individual Operator Licence Suspended and subsequently cancelled.

17. BUSINESS VS INDIVIDUAL LICENCE Engaging the services of others (employees). Section 14(1) Private Security Act 2004 = Requirement to hold a private security business licence

18. Advantages of Proprietary Company Structure Such a company has separate legal personality and is a legal entity in its own right, independent of its directors and shareholders; The company has liability in its own right, separate to the more limited liability that directors may have; The company structure thus allows for asset protection and the avoidance of liability.

19. LRD POLICY LRD policy has been consistent since 2005 but, in some cases due to varying reasons, misrepresented; Developed with the assistance of the Department of Justice; In regards to body corporates, whether “one person” proprietary companies or not, if such a company provides the services of persons to carry on security activities, the company is required to hold a Private Security Business Licence; and All persons carrying on security activities via such a company are required to hold a Private Security Individual Operator Licence.

20. RATIONALE FOR LRD POLICY From a regulatory perspective, it is essential that private security companies are consistently overseen and regulated. It would be inconsistent and contrary to the intention of the Act for one-person companies to be able to avoid the relevant requirements in the Act that apply to other body corporates whilst enjoying the financial and taxation protections that the corporate structure provides.

21. Quick Questions Answered 1. Can I get access to the Victoria Police LEAP database?  No 2. Can I get access to any Victoria Police database?  No 3. Can I get an associate attached in a sworn or unsworn capacity to Victoria Police to provide information?  No

22. Questions???