What does it take to get Private Investigators Singapore Agency Licensure?
PRIVATE DETECTIVES IN SINGAPORE
Whether a potential private investigator is seeking employment with the government or seeking employment with the private sector, one of the most important factors associated with entering the field of investigation is obtaining the proper licensure to legally operate as an investigator or detective—and it isn’t only investigators and detectives that have to worry about licensure. Due to the widespread popularity of investigation agencies, the majority of private investigators immediately enter into the employ of agencies in order to receive the benefits of association and more stable pay. Working with an agency relieves private investigators of many of their burdens, leaving them with the primary concern of upholding their code of conduct and keeping their licensure and certification up to date. However, though agencies may remove some of the burdens of operation from the shoulders of the investigators they employ, agencies experience their own set of difficulties. Though they are not individual entities, in order for agencies to legally operate as a business that is able to provide individuals with investigative services, they have to make sure that they uphold their one code of conduct and keep their own licensure up to date. All different countries in different parts of the world have their different sets of rules, and in this particular article we will be taking a closer look at private investigators Singapore agency licensure.
It is an individual—preferably and necessarily a private investigator themselves—who first applies for an agency license. Once again, the branch of government that is dealt with to obtain a license is the Police Licensing and Regulatory Department (PLRD), one of the same departments that individuals have to go through to get their personal investigative license. In fact, individuals who apply for licensure to operate a private investigative agency must have a personal private investigator license as well. The PLRD also recommends that the individual applying for licensure meet the following experience qualifications: three years of experience in the investigative field (only two are required if the person served on the police force) and two years of experience in a supervisory position, managing employees and other people to some capacity. Educational qualifications include passing of the WSQ module as well as other preferred modules. In addition, applicants must have certain resources at their disposal; an initial account for beginning capital is required for start-up, and they must also be able to present a proposal for the location of office space that can be examined by selected government branches, evaluated, and either approved or found inadequate by the standards of the government. These are the basic steps that a private investigator must go through to receive his or her private investigators Singapore agency licensure.
Realizing that the only people who are able to apply to licensure are people who have already had experience with the applicant process and, more importantly, the nuances of the investigative field, it is also important to realize that the difference between being a private investigator and being the director of a private investigators Singapore based agency require very different sets of knowledge. An investigator is an investigator, but the director of an agency (the person who applies for the license) must be aware of different bits and pieces of knowledge while completing the licensure process. To begin with, there are different types of agencies that an investigator can apply to receive licensure to operate. There are three different types of operation methods that can be applied for: private limited company, partnership, and sole-proprietorship. Each method relies on the applicant to provide full-time responsibility and management to the company—basically, recipients of agency licenses are not legally able to have another job if they want to work as the director of an agency. If any aspect of the employment of the direction (Ex: gains a partner, looses a partner, or gains multiple partners), the directors must apply immediately for a new license.