Professional Private Investigators Association of Colorado Senior Member Ricky Bennett will be the presenter of PPIAC’s first Quarterly Training Session which is scheduled for March 16th, 2012 with a venue in the Denver metro area. Mr. Bennett will present a day-long class on Interviews. Keep an eye out on VP of Training Tan Smyth’s announcement for further details.
300. Most of us, when we hear this number, the first thing that might come to mind is the blockbuster movie that was released a few years ago. However, that number also holds a great deal of significance to Colorado private investigators. 300 (and counting) are the number of private investigators that are interested in Colorado’s Voluntary Private Investigator License. The spreadsheet with the contact information of the 300 was presented to Colorado’s Department of Regulatory Agencies. Further information can be located at http://www.dora.state.co.us/private-investigator/index.htm
PPIAC is diligently monitoring bills that have recently been introduced at the 2012 Colorado Legislative Session. HB12-1036, which is to provide clarification to the Colorado Open Records Act, was recently introduced and could potentially have a significant impact to private investigators if passed. The two page bill, which seeks to provide clarification of the exemption from the Colorado Open Records Act, might appear to be non-impactful, but it is far from it. In its current form, the bill specifies that the custodian of records may deny the right of inspection, on the ground that disclosure to the applicant would be contrary to the public interest, any records of the investigations conducted by any sheriff, prosecuting attorney, or police department, or any investigatory files compiled for any other civil, administrative, or criminal law enforcement purpose. Can there possibly be a much larger swath of a denial of records at the discretion of the custodian? Keep in mind these files were previously viewable in accordance to the Open Records Act. PPIAC has been working to create exemptions for licensed private investigators. If exemptions for licensed private investigators cannot be achieved, PPIAC will likely have no choice but to oppose this bill in its entirety alongside other opponents. You can read the bill by going to http://www.leg.state.co.us/clics/clics2012a/csl.nsf/fsbillcont3/F910975289BD2B1D87257981007F3A47?open&file=1036_01.pdf
HB12-1231, with regards to the Colorado Driver’s Privacy Protection Act, looks to be a much friendlier bill to the investigative profession. This bill seeks to bring the Colorado DPPA in line with the Federal DPPA. The PPIAC Board has not had the opportunity to review this bill, and thus has not taken an official position on the bill, but I anticipate the bill will receive the support of the association as it recognizes the licensed private investigator when requesting records from the Colorado Department of Motor Vehicles.
In the last couple of years, there has been an ever-increasing concern and focus on privacy, identity theft protection, and limiting access to public records. While legislators may introduce bills with good intentions, many of these bills can quickly go awry if not closely monitored and guided by PPIAC. It’s this type of legislative representation where an association can demonstrate its value and importance to its membership, and it’s this type of legislative representation PPIAC continues to provide for the benefit of the members year in and year out.
Please consider joining PPIAC in March for a Background/Integrity Interviews topic presented by Steve and Erica Davis.
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