Bill would regulate private eyes, bounty hunters
HARRISBURG – Stanford Douglas Jr. paid $150 to a private investigator – with no questions asked – to get the information he needed to find and kill Upper Makefield resident William Berkeyheiser last year. Mark Smith was looking for extra pocket cash when he was hired to track down bail-jumper Michael Robinson in Pittsburgh. With no weapons training, he fired a shotgun he thought was loaded with rubber proejctiles but instead killed Robinson with a metal one.
Both cases in recent years have exposed the largely unregulated and shadowy business of private investigators and bounty hunters in the state’s justice system.
Pennsylvania has no statewide licensure and professional standards for these two trades, as it does with nearly everything else, from barbers to chiropractors to auctioneers and psychologists.
A bounty hunter – who could be anyone hired by a bail bond company – can walk into a home and make an arrest needing no identification, no training and no notification to local police.
Cheryl Burns, president of Greenville-based Bail USA, a bail bond company, said some of the bounty hunters she’s encountered “conduct themselves in a fashion more suitable to the days of the Wild West.”
“Every profession we know has standards, an oversight process and continuing education requirements,” said Bucks County Rep. Scott Petri, a Republican. “Let’s get ahead of this game and make sure people are doing the right things.”
Petri, who spoke Tuesday at a House Judiciary subcommittee hearing, has introduced legislation known as “Berkey’s bill” with York County Republican Stanley Saylor to create a statewide board to license private investigators, “fugitive recovery agents” or bounty hunters, and also security agents.
House Bill 2493 also requires lethal weapons training, continuing education, a corporate surety bond and liability insurance, and mandates, in the case of private investigators, that they try to determine the reason a client wants information.
On the books right now, is the 1953 Private Detective Act requiring county judges to license private investigators after reviewing criminal backgrounds and “moral character” based on witness testimony.
Berkeyheiser’s widow, Viola, and two of his daughters were present at the hearing and said the legislation would make a difference.
Douglas, who was mentally ill, shot Berkeyheiser, 62, at home on an Easter Sunday night, later telling police he was angry over a racial joke the older man supposedly told in his presence in 1998.
The Berkeyheisers are now suing A-Plus Investigations of Burlington, N.J., for “aiding and abetting” Douglas in handing over sensitive personal information about Berkeyheiser that led to his killing. Douglas had called five other private investigation firms but hung up when they began asking questions about why he needed the information.
“Since Bill’s murder I have heard from many private investigators. They are appalled at what happened,” said Viola Berkeyheiser. “Their associations … do not sanction the irresponsible and unethical behavior of the co-owners of this investigation agency. Unfortunately, membership in these organizations and adherence to basic standards and ethics is voluntary.”
The president of A-Plus, John Ciaccio, has said the Berkeyheisers are “spinning the facts” in the lawsuit, calling it “a desperate plea for money.”
Proponents say a statewide system is needed so that a private investigator whose license has been revoked in one county can’t easily jump to another and start up business again.
Also they say citizens should have a remedy to file action against unscrupulous agents, other than bringing civil charges, and have a central spot to review complaints or sanctions against an agent. The legislation would allow the licensing board to revoke or suspend licenses and provides for renewal every two years.
The Pennsylvania Association of Licensed Investigators is on board, noting its timeliness given that private investigation and security guards are among the fastest growing professions in the nation because of concerns about crime, vandalism, and terrorism.
Pennsylvania is the only state licensing private investigators that doesn’t provide for statewide registry; there are eight states with no laws at all. At least six states have laws requiring licensing and training of bounty hunters.
But Arthur Thomas Donato, past president of the Pennsylvania Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, said statewide licensing could bring up conflicts of interest for private investigators working for defense attorneys. The licensing board would include two appointments from the state attorney general and state police, the very people who are in “natural tension” with the work of defense attorneys.
“There are many people out there who want to be licenses as a private investigator who might tread lightly when they have a case involving the Attorney General or State Police,” said Donato. “What bothers me is the chilling effect.”
Donato said he preferred to keep licensing local, where impartial judges have a better sense of the “moral character” of applicants.
Allegheny County Judge Jeffrey Manning was supportive, but said he would do away with an exception allowing bounty hunters from other states to do work in Pennsylvania without a license.
“I suggest that persons who are going to be acting as fugitive recovery agents in this Commonwealth should meet the same requirements of those who work here,” Manning said.
Petri said he doesn’t expect the House to pick up the bill this fall, given the shortened, election year fall session, but would reintroduce it in January.
Alison Hawkes can be reached at 717-705-6330 or ahawkes@calkins-media.com.