WEEDING OUT WANNA-BES: GUMSHOES SAY REGULATIONS NEEDED

Private investigators need to be watched more closely, said Jerry Wolsey, a private investigator.

After 11 years operating Wolsey Investigative Service Inc. in Southeast Missouri, Wolsey has seen enough private eye wanna-be's to believe that regulation by the state is necessary.

"The industry is growing by leaps and bounds across the nation," said Wolsey, whose firm of about 100 people operates in four states from offices in St. Louis and his base in Cape Girardeau. "We don't need uneducated people operating as private investigators."

Licensing private eyes will be one of the topics at the Missouri Association of Private Investigators' conference this weekend in Cape Girardeau. The association was formed two years ago mostly to put a unified voice behind licensing legislation sponsored by state Rep. Don Kissell, D-St. Peters.

Kissell, who worked as a police officer for 17 years, said Rep. Mark Richardson, R-Poplar Bluff, brought the need for legislation to his attention.

"All we're trying to do is create some accountability and responsibility," Kissell said.

A growth in private investigators has been felt in Missouri partly because surrounding states already have license requirements, Wolsey said. It makes Missouri a haven for private eyes who can't make it elsewhere.

"We don't want the industry to have a black eye because some guy who bags groceries during the day is playing private investigator at night," said Tim Flora, who worked in law enforcement in St. Louis County for 17 years before starting his own investigative agency in St. Charles, Mo.

The licensing bill would set up training standards and a written exam that investigators would have to pass, Kissell said. A six-member board appointed by the governor would grant licenses and monitor investigators.

The bill, which also set guidelines for licensing bail bondsmen, has been generally well received by those it would oversee, Kissell said.

After introducing the bill into legislation the past two years without passage, Kissell believes the 2001 session will be kinder. The first time it was tacked on to a omnibus crime bill that was vetoed by the governor. Last year, the House passed the bill, but the Senate didn't have enough time to take it up.

The personal effect of poorly qualified private eyes on individuals was seen during legislative hearings, Kissell said. People told about injuries suffered because an investigator mistook their identities. Prosecutors said they had lost cases because of untimely private eye interference in investigations.

Problem private eyes generally aren't found in Southeast Missouri, Wolsey said. The law enforcement community is small, and little room exists for those who do a shoddy job.

Dee Wayne Heil has seen a wide mix of investigators since he began his law enforcement career with the Army's Criminal Investigation Division in 1970. He sees a strict Illinois licensing law pushing unqualified investigators across the river.

"In Missouri, a big business card and a letterhead gets you in," said Heil, who investigated over 400 homicides as a detective with the Illinois State Police.

Now in St. Louis as regional manager of the Michigan-based investigation firm Seventree North America, Heil hopes Missouri will start licensing private investigators.

"You have people here operating without insurance," he said. "That places clients in danger of liability."

Ultimately, Flora said, the licenses are needed to protect the public.

"A lot of people flip open the phone book and call to find similar prices," he said. "Then, suddenly, someone tells them he'll do it for under $20 an hour. They don't realize that he might have just gotten out of prison."

Non-licensed

Missouri is among six states that do not require private investigators to have a license. The other five are:

* Alabama

* Alaska

* Colorado

* Idaho

* Mississippi

Source: The National Association of Investigative Specialists