Many people understand that there are licensed private investigators in Oklahoma and commissioned police officers, but they do not fully understand what those are. There are indeed quite a few differences between these two professions, and yet there are also some critical areas where their duties seem to overlap. Both legal professions are vital and can provide invaluable services to those in need. Today we shall explore how the duties and obligations of law enforcement officers and private detectives are similar and different. The main differences include, but are not limited to, the following:
Licensed vs. Commissioned:
One of the first things that people notice when looking at the differences between private eyes and police officers is that PIs are licensed, and law enforcement officers receive a formal commission as a police officer. Both commissions and licensing both directly come through the Oklahoma Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training (C.L.E.E.T.), but the training requirements for police officers are more extensive than for Oklahoma private investigators.
Arrest Powers & an Ability to Write Traffic Tickets vs. No Arrest Powers:
Private detectives in Oklahoma City are not law enforcement officers. They completely lack the ability to write tickets and make arrests. Only law enforcement officers have the police powers to detain and arrest people and to write tickets. However, they may only do so within the city, county, or state of their jurisdiction, unless they are federal officers. Then they can do so anywhere within the United States.
Even so, police officers have many more rules and regulations than private investigators have. Law enforcement officers must follow set protocols, police department, require probable cause or warrants to act, and more. This is due in large part to the fact they have arrest powers. The rules, laws, policies, and procedures are there to help keep the public safe.
Private detectives in OKC, on the other hand, also work criminal cases and criminal cases. Because they do not have to arrest people and do not carry the same obligations to intervene in serious crimes even when off duty, they also do not have the same set of rules and regulations to follow. Criminal private investigators must follow the same basic laws as other civilians, because that is what they are.
Thus, while a police officer would get into serious trouble for offering a snitch five hundred dollars for some information, if a private eye offers a little cash to someone to loosen a tongue – not lie but just speak the truth she knows – no one will bat an eye. This is just one of many examples where rape private investigators and process servers have a definite edge over law enforcement officers.
Criminal Investigations vs. Civil & Criminal Investigations:
Police officers investigate crimes on behalf of the public to try to put criminals into prison. They do their best to bring justice to the victims whom the criminals have hurt. The public’s funds pay their salaries, and they can make arrests and recommend charges to government prosecutors. Police do not investigate or oversee any civil matters, unless they are county deputies working in the civil process division and, like process servers, deliver court papers and other legal documents to defendants/respondents, witnesses, and plaintiffs.
A civil private investigator can conduct civil private investigations and/or criminal private investigations. They can choose what they investigate, and they can do so on behalf of whomever pays them do so. Thus, a private eye might work for both victims and perpetrators of crimes, or they may choose to only investigate civil cases. Thus, PIs get the choice and can select their cases, civil or criminal. Police officers and detectives must work the criminal cases their supervisors assign to them.
Paid with Private Funds vs. Public Servants:
The public’s funds from taxes pay the salaries of police officers. Only private clients cover the costs of the human trafficking private detective’s salary. No one else pays them from the government’s money, so keep that in mind when their retainers are not cheap.
Supplying Their Own Equipment Vs. Publicly Funded:
Police departments and other law enforcement agencies pay for their police officers’ equipment they use while investigating criminal cases. The public’s tax money covers the costs of law enforcement personnel’s equipment, such as cop cars, firearms, bulletproof vests, and more, just as it pays for their salaries. This is one of the great benefits to having a public job, but the officers do not own the property; the public does.
Even the best private investigators must provide their own investigative equipment. The public pays for nothing for them, so a kidnapping private investigator must provide all her own equipment, training, and licensing. This is a major difference between public servants who work as police officers and private investigators who must produce their own offices, vehicles, firearms, cameras, and other needed items on their own dime.
Different Training Requirements for Private Eyes vs. Police Officers:
Oklahoma unarmed private detectives must pass C.L.E.E.T. training phases I and III, and if they wish to have the armed private investigator license, they must also complete phase IV. In addition, they must form a limited liability company or corporation or must work under the umbrella of another private investigation agency in Oklahoma. PIs must also secure a bond for private investigators, secure passport photos, pass the licensure tests, adequately complete background checks, and more.
That may sound like a significant amount of training, background checks, and red tape, and it is, but the process for licensure as a private detective in Oklahoma is supposed to be rigorous, because criminal private detectives have access to much larger swaths of people’s personal information, such as social security numbers, full dates of birth, drivers’ license numbers, etc. The public should not have access to this information; only vetted, licensed private eyes with the appropriate training and those who have undergone the necessary background checks should.
If the process for licensure for private detectives in Oklahoma seems grueling, the road to securing a police commission is much more difficult. In addition to basic aptitude tests and background checks, law enforcement officers must also pass polygraph examinations that delve into their past. These lie detector tests even ask if they have committed crimes for which they did not face prosecution. These gatekeeping questions automatically disqualify many who apply with one too many skeletons in their closets.
C.L.E.E.T. does not require private investigators in Edmond, Oklahoma to pass polygraph tests, because they do not have arrest powers like police officers do. This is the big reason many governments require them for law enforcement personnel, because they want to weed out corrupt, immoral would-be police officers who are likely to harm the public and hurt others even more so if they have a police badge to hide behind.
While middle sized and larger police and even fire departments mandate the successful completion of polygraph examinations for its new police recruits, many smaller police departments do not require them. They may lack the polygraph examiners, financial resources, or even the applicant pool willing to and/or able to pass a police force lie detector test. Thus, it is easier for bad apples to join smaller police departments, where the pay and scrutiny are often less.
All full-time law enforcement officers in Oklahoma must complete a 600-hour police academy training program to receive a police commission. This trains them on firearms, self-defense training, patrol methods, etc. Part time reserve police officers must only complete a shorter 240-hour training, while those already certified in other states as police officers can often get an Oklahoma C.L.E.E.T. police commission via a shortened “bridge” Oklahoma police academy program.
Once again though, Oklahoma private eyes do not have to complete this extensive training. As noted earlier, this is primarily or even exclusively since murder private investigators do not receive arrest powers. No PI does, and given that they work in the private sector, the public does not entrust them with pay, benefits, and equipment at the taxpayers’ expense.
Sexual assault private detectives can make their own rules and must also complete additional training sessions of their own choosing each year to qualify to renew their Oklahoma private investigator licenses. Since they can conduct both civil and criminal investigations while police officers may only investigate criminal matters, having the ability to choose their own continuing education classes allows them to select class coursework which most applies to what they most want to learn and the areas of practice they focus on the most.
Polygraph Examinations Required vs. No Lie Detector Tests Needed:
As noted earlier, middle-sized, and larger police and fire departments like the Oklahoma City Police Department (OCPD) require all police officer applicants to successfully pass a departmental polygraph test prior to acceptance onto their police force. They do this to weed out bad apples and to eliminate criminals and embarrassing episodes that make their police force look bad and which bring about expensive lawsuits.
Many smaller police and fire departments cannot afford to hire a polygraph examiner to do prescreening on law enforcement and fire department applicants. They may not even have polygraphists nearby, and even if they did there may not be enough applicants who could successfully pass them in especially small towns. So, many tiny fire departments and police departments simply do not require or even offer them.
No Oklahoma private detective must take a polygraph exam in OKC to become a private eye. Thus, it is much easier to obtain a PI license than it is a police commission, at least in the middle-sized and larger police departments. But once again, since they have no arrest powers and receive no public funds, why should they have to?
Ability to Use Police Badges, Blue & Red Lights, & Those Who Cannot, etc.:
Another major difference between law enforcement personnel and cheating spouse private investigators is that the former uses police badges, can flash the red and blue emergency lights, may write tickets, and make arrests, etc. If a private investigator or any other non-law enforcement civilian does any of the actions we listed above, then it is a crime in Oklahoma and a misdemeanor in certain other states.
Indeed, impersonating a police officer places the public in danger. If the government allows anyone to pretend to be a law enforcement officer, the public will lose what little trust they have left in an already largely – not exclusively, but largely – racist, homophobic, transphobic, xenophobic, misogynistic group of individuals who typically have no higher than an average IQ. So, it is right and just that this is a crime.
Police Stations vs. Private Investigation Agency Offices:
Another stark difference between police officers and private detectives in Norman, OK is that the former has a stationary police station in the jurisdiction where the law enforcement operates. The government provides and maintains this building from the public’s tax dollars, and the building and equipment belong to the people. Law enforcement officers do not get to keep their equipment or the building itself, because they never own government-issued equipment and buildings.
While adultery private investigators must pay for their own private investigation building, equipment, vehicles, etc., from the fees they charge their clients, unlike law enforcement officers, they get to keep anything they buy. Also, they get more autonomy about how and when they use the equipment and buildings, meaning they may later sell their equipment, buildings, and private investigation practice to someone else later, if they do choose.
The option for a career is best for those who desire structure, a strict set of procedures and rules, order, and who possess an internal sense of duty to “protect and serve” the public. These individuals most often enjoy working as part of a team or family unit, a brotherhood/sisterhood with ranks, order, and a justice-seeking philosophy. But not everyone seeks these things or is built for this type of thing.
Criminal private eyes near me, on the other hand, may work on behalf of victims and their families or might even work as part of a criminal defense team to help keep criminal suspects out of prison. They tend to be more independent, self-directed, and enjoy making their own rules and policies as they go along. Indeed, many child custody private investigators have no need for a formal rank structure or supervisors, and many are initiative-taking.
Police officers must also request time off work, whereas self-employed infidelity private detectives may work whichever days and times they choose. Thus, while law enforcement officers receive paid time off, they must ask for it and get preapproval. No one financially compensates private investigators when they choose not to work, but on the other hand they may freely take time off whenever they desire and their work schedule allows.
Set Shifts vs. Making Their Own Hours:
Police officers working at a police station have set shifts during they must work for a specific number of hours. Many legal professionals in a wide variety of fields prefer this consistency and regularity. It provides a sense of security and stability that many people prefer and even need.
On the other hand, many sex trafficking private investigators work when a client hires them. Even then, they often have great leeway in how and when they perform their duties. This freedom over their own scheduling is something many people also enjoy.
Ability to Offer Under the Table Bribes vs. Ability to Offer Reduced Charges:
As noted earlier, law enforcement officers cannot technically offer people they meet financial bribes for cooperation and information. But just as prison guards can offer special privileges to jailhouse informants, police and prosecutors can also look the other way on certain crimes and even offer reduced charges. Directly doling out money for cooperation is not something law enforcement personnel can legally do, but this is not to say it never happens.
Private investigators in El Reno can get away with slipping people they want information from money under the table, provided they do not break any local, state, or federal laws and are not bribing a witness or victim. But if a process server or parental kidnapping wants to know where someone is or what they have been doing, then a little money on the side might help elicit their cooperation. There is no supervisor or law enforcement official lurking overhead to discipline them for this activity like police officers would face.
Required Use of Body Cameras and Dash Cameras vs. No Requirement to Utilize These Recording Devices:
To help with transparency and to regain and keep the public’s trust, some police departments require their law enforcement officers to wear body cameras and to also use dash cameras on their police vehicles. These are shown to help keep police officers honest, though sometimes cops unscrupulously turn off their body and dash cameras when they want to do or say something privately that they do not want others to hear. Without body cameras, some police officers and other law enforcement personnel are more likely to break the law and do bad things.
Oklahoma’s laws do not require private investigators in Tulsa or process servers to wear body cameras or dash cameras. Some use them for their own protection in the event someone becomes violent and to counter disputes about effective service, what was said or done, etc. Indeed, some private eyes in Moore, OK even utilize their cell phones and secretly take video and audio footage in public places and/or conversations to which they are a party. However, unless they or their clients want them to use body cameras and/or dash cameras, there is no requirement for private eyes to do so.
As you can see, police officers’ and civil private investigators’ professions share some similarities, but they also have many significant differences as well. Hopefully, those who have read this entire article now have a clearer understanding of some of the many differences between police officers and private detectives. Please remember this is not meant to be a complete listing of all the differences between the law enforcement and private investigation professions. For more information and/or if you have additional questions, please contact the owners of our private detective agency.
