24.182.804    PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR TRAINING PROGRAM

(1) To receive experience credit for on-the-job training for licensure as a private investigator, the training must be:  

(a) conducted under an employer-employee relationship with a private investigator supervisor who is licensed in good standing and without disciplinary action in the past five years;

(b) directly supervised to include daily contact and weekly meetings (in person or by videoconference); and

(c) documented by the trainee and signed off by the supervisor as directed by a form or online submission to the department on a quarterly basis.  

(2)  The content of the training must include:

(a) role and function of the private investigator;

(b) federal, state, and local statutes and rules applicable to the practice of private investigators;

(c) interaction and cooperation with law enforcement;

(d) criminal justice administration and information;

(e) limitations on the use of force and self-defense and the use-of-force continuum;

(f) emergency procedures and hazardous material preparedness;

(g) interviews, interrogations, and report writing;

(h) crisis intervention;

(i) preservation of crime scene and handling of evidence;

(j) ethical and legal issues, including, but not limited to:

(i) Private Investigator Practice Act and related rules;

(ii) criminal law and criminal procedure;

(iii) confidentiality and right of privacy;

(iv) searches of persons and property;

(v) limitations on the power to arrest and detain suspects; and

(vi) treatment of juveniles, persons with physical or mental disabilities, and other special classes (e.g., gender, racial, religious, or cultural);

(k) distinctions between and special issues involved in the following types of investigations: accidents, arson, assets, background, civil, criminal, domestic, industrial/employee conduct, insurance, personal injury (other than auto), and missing person;

(l) investigative photography;

(m) surveillance; and

(n) skip tracing.

(3)  Both a supervisor and a trainee must notify the department within 10 days of the termination of the trainee's employment.

 

History: 37-60-202, 37-60-303, MCA; IMP, 37-60-202, 37-60-303, MCA; NEW, 2017 MAR p. 1957, Eff. 10/28/17; AMD, 2023 MAR p. 1744, Eff. 12/9/23.