민간조사 관리제도에 대한 국가별 비교 연구

Abstract

The current arrangements, under which the system is not regulated, allows anyone to work as a private investigator, regardless of their skills, experience or criminal convictions. This presents a high risk of rogue investigators unlawfully infringing on the privacy of individuals. In order to find an alternative, this study has explored various regulations of private investigations. For the study, five countries have been chosen, such as United Kingdom, United States of America, Germany, France, and Japan. In most countries, there is a two-tier system of licensing of private investigators and private investigation companies and registration of others undertaking investigative work. Full licensing should apply to individuals operating or employed as full-time investigators and to private investigation companies. In terms of skills, the core of any training regime for investigators ought to be knowledge of the Code of Conduct and the legal constraints that govern the industry. With this in mind, any contravention of data laws should result in the suspension of a licence and prohibition from engaging in investigation activity, linked to meaningful penalties for the worst offences. The role of private investigators has some difference in jurisdictions. However mostly their work focuses on fraud detection, recovery of stolen goods, maintenance of public order and major investigations with a statement of the risks associated with the involvement of private investigators in each of these areas. It is vital to establish a proper regulation of private investigators to ensure rigorous standards in this sector and the respect of individuals’ rights to privacy. The new system should make it a criminal offence to operate as a private investigator without a licence. Anyone with a criminal conviction for instance protection offences can expect to have their application for a licence refused.