On 14 May 2015, the Private Security (Licensing and Standards) (Private Investigator) Regulations 2015 (S.I. No 195 of 2015) were signed into law. The Regulations mark the outcome of a Private Security Authority (PSA) public consultation conducted last January following high profile prosecutions for breaches of data protection law in the Private Investigator (PI) Industry (see previous blogs here and here).
The Regulations, which come into effect on 1 November 2015, shall make it an offence for any contractor to offer a service as a PI without a licence after that date. It will also be an offence for a person to engage or employ an unlicensed PI. Only those licensed by the PSA will be able to advertise or represent themselves as a Licensed PI.
The Department of Justice and Equality has hailed the new Regulations as “a major milestone” for the PSA.