In life, the greatest challenges often yield the greatest rewards. In the coming months and years, the Professional Private Investigators Association of Colorado will be presented with many challenges. How the association tackles these challenges will no doubt shape its future for years to come.
One of the challenges for PPIAC will be addressing the continued training of its members. Recent events not just in Denver but all throughout Colorado involving private investigators have garnered national and in some cases international media attention. PPIAC has the responsibility of ensuring that its members receive the necessary continuing education and training to provide professional results to our clients. Emerging technology has brought with it emerging legislation. Recently-introduced information sources and websites have brought legislation restricting what information can be used and how it can be used.
Another one of the challenges facing PPIAC will be attracting the brightest, most skilled, qualified, professional private investigators in Colorado. For PPIAC to continue to survive and thrive, it must provide incentives for professional-minded private investigators to want to join a network of existing investigative professionals. PPIAC must foster professionalism with its own members, which will in turn provide an attractive atmosphere for future members. PPIAC will be faced with the challenges of bringing in private investigators which will promote the continued growth of the association.
PPIAC must also identify ways to ensure the public is protected. PPIAC must educate the public to include our clients about the lack of licensing regulations for private investigators in Colorado. PPIAC must encourage and provide the public with the tools to do their own due diligence prior to choosing a PI. PPIAC members who receive complaints from the public about improper conduct and actions of other investigators should direct the public to the proper agencies who can address these actions. DORA ( the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies) and the Denver / Boulder Better Business Bureau are two avenues where the public can be directed to log complaints. Directing the public to PPIAC and its background checked members will encourage public awareness of the association.
PPIAC also has the responsibility of changing the mindset of how private investigators are viewed. The public’s perception, to this day, tends to be what is presented by the movies and television shows. The only way for the public to start viewing investigators as professional is for investigators themselves to view and hold themselves as professionals. PPIAC members must take the initiative to break the stereotype of the shady, lurking in the shadows and bushes, booze bottle in the bottom drawer of the desk to the business minded, law abiding, trained, aware-of-current-regulation professionals the public deserves to have.
PPIAC has the responsibility of monitoring, addressing, and even introducing legislation which affects private investigations in Colorado. By taking a proactive, rather than a reactive approach, PPIAC can more effectively direct the outcome of legislation.
So the Professional Private Investigators Association of Colorado is at a crossroads. What type of association does it hope to be? What type of association does it want to continue to be? What will be the outcome of those decisions? Will members be content with the outcome of those decisions? PPIAC has and will continue to depend on the involvement of its members to affect the type of association, and the type of profession for that matter, that its members want. Colorado private investigators should consider helping shape the future of investigations in Colorado through membership in the Professional Private Investigators Association of Colorado. Please visit www.ppiac.org for more information.