3.3 Prohibited Terms, Marketing & Dual-Licence Restrictions

How an agency names itself, how its investigators describe their work, and how a dual licensee separates guard duty from investigative work are all regulated. The rules are short, but they cover every business card, website, phone introduction and shift schedule.

Prohibited Terms (PSISA s. 40)

Section 40 says no private investigator, security guard or person who sells their services shall use the following terms or variations of them:

1. Detective or Private Detective
2. Law enforcement
3. Police
4. Officer

The ministry's public guidance adds "special constable" to the list of titles licensees may not use. Section 39 separately prohibits a licensee from falsely holding themself out as providing services or performing duties connected with police.

The rule applies to every medium: business names, websites, social media, business cards, vehicle lettering, letterhead, reports and spoken introductions. An operative who answers the phone "Officer Smith, Northern Detective Agency" has used two prohibited terms in one sentence.

Business Names and Advertising

• Licensed name only (s. 33): a business licensee may carry on business only in the name in which it is licensed.
• Display (s. 36): the business licence must be displayed in a conspicuous spot in each office where the public deals with the agency, and each branch office displays its own licence.
• False, misleading or deceptive advertising (s. 42): if the Registrar believes on reasonable grounds that a licensee is making a false, misleading or deceptive representation in an advertisement or other published material, the Registrar may order it to stop and to retract or publish a correction.

Examples of advertising that invites a s. 42 order or worse:

• claiming endorsement by the OPP, a municipal police service or the ministry;
• implying access to police databases such as CPIC, or to wiretaps, which private investigators cannot lawfully obtain;
• guaranteeing results ("100% proof of infidelity"), which no honest fact-finder can promise.

PSISA does not require every advertisement to show the agency's licence number. Many agencies show it voluntarily, but the legal requirements are the licensed name (s. 33), the displayed licence (s. 36) and truthful advertising (s. 42).

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Dual Licences

An individual may hold a licence to act as both a private investigator and a security guard (PSISA s. 4, licence type 5).

The core rule: one role at a time

PSISA s. 12, paragraph 3 says that, regardless of the licences held, a person may not act as a security guard and a private investigator at the same time. ServiceOntario repeats the rule on its licence page.

Why the rule matters

A guard's access to keycards, CCTV, tenant lists and visitor logs is granted to protect the property. Using it for an outside investigation could breach:

• the Code of Conduct's honesty and confidentiality duties (O. Reg. 363/07, s. 2(1)(a) and (h));
• privacy law (Chapter 4); and
• the Criminal Code, for example unauthorized use of a computer under s. 342.1.

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Agency Records That Support Compliance (O. Reg. 434/07)

Every licensed business entity must keep, for two years, or longer if the records relate to an ongoing investigation, inspection, complaint or proceeding:

• lists of current investigators and guards, and of those employed in the previous two years;
• employment contracts, and records of when and where each person worked;
• all notes and reports prepared by its investigators and guards;
• all photographs and video, audio or other electronic records produced or obtained;
• a use-of-force report for each use of handcuffs, a baton, a firearm or other weapon, or other force; and
• training, insurance and equipment-issue records for handcuffs, batons and firearms.

These records let an inspector confirm who worked in which role and when, which is how a dual-licence breach is usually proven.

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Penalties

Using prohibited terms, holding out as police, operating under an unlicensed name, or acting in both roles at the same time all contravene the Act. Each is an offence under s. 43(1)(d), punishable under s. 45 by up to $25,000, one year in jail, or both for an individual, and up to $250,000 for a business entity. The Registrar may also impose licence conditions, refuse renewal, suspend or revoke.