B.C. Reg. 3/81
O.C. 26/81
Filed January 9, 1981
This archived regulation consolidation is current to April 21, 2006 and includes changes enacted and in force by that date. For the most current information, click here.

Private Investigators and Security Agencies Act

PRIVATE INVESTIGATORS AND SECURITY
AGENCIES ACT REGULATION

[includes amendments up to B.C. Reg. 231/2004]

Contents
  1  Interpretation
  2  Information to be disclosed by applicants
  3  Exempting from sections 3 and 10 of the Act
  4  Prescribing "crime" for section 8 of the Act
  5  Making or duplicating a restricted key
  6  Marking a restricted key
  6.1  Security business licence fees
  6.2  Security employee licence fees
  7  Licence fees
  8  Repealed
  9  Appeal deposit
  10  Investigations
  11  Offences
  12  Forms
  Schedules A to F Repealed

Interpretation

1 In this regulation:

"Act" means Private Investigators and Security Agencies Act;

"applicant" means a person applying to be licensed under the Act;

"licensee" means a person licensed under the Act;

"manager" means a person designated by a security business licensee to direct or manage the business;

"restricted key" means any key, card or other lock operating device that

(a) is stamped or marked

(i) "M", "GM", "Master", "Do Not Copy", "Do Not Duplicate", "Restricted" or any other similar restrictive expression, word or letter, or

(ii) as being the property of any organization, association, corporation, partnership, firm, or other organization, or as being the property of the federal government, or of a provincial or municipal government, or a government department or agency anywhere in Canada, or

(b) requires the use of special equipment to duplicate or code.

Information to be disclosed by applicants

2 (1) An applicant for a licence or renewal of a licence shall provide the registrar with adequate and relevant personal information, before the licence is issued or renewed, respecting

(a) education, training, experience and skill,

(b) mental condition,

(c) criminal record,

(d) past and present addresses, and

(e) any other matter relevant to whether or not a licence is to be granted.

(2) Where the applicant referred to in subsection (1) is a corporation, that corporation shall provide the information with respect to its manager and any person about whom a disclosure is required to be made by that corporation under section 6 of the Act.

(3) An applicant shall provide his fingerprints taken by a constable appointed pursuant to the Police Act, and where the applicant is a corporation the fingerprints shall be those of the manager of that corporation and every person connected with that corporation who is described in section 6 of the Act.

Exempting from sections 3 and 10 of the Act

3 (1) Section 10 of the Act does not apply to

(a) janitorial staff,

(b) persons employed solely in administrative duties who do not supervise licensed security employees,

(c) Repealed. [B.C. Reg. 430/87.]

(d) persons employed for the sole purpose of repairing, manufacturing or servicing alarm systems who, during the course of their employment, remain on the premises of the security business,

(e) wholesalers who do not act as locksmiths, or wholesalers who sell, distribute or supply locksmiths' tools or restricted keys to retailers or locksmiths, but who do not supply those items to persons other than retailers or locksmiths, and for the purpose of this paragraph the sale by a wholesaler to a general contractor of a lock and key or series of locks and keys does not constitute a sale to a non-retailer,

(f) persons employed for the purpose of duplicating common keys, whether employed by a licensed locksmith or not, or

(g) clerical sales staff employed by a locksmith who do not engage in the employment of a locksmith.

(2) Locksmiths or lock sales persons, alarm services or alarm sales persons who, during the course of selling their product express opinions or give advice concerning that product for which they do not charge a fee, other than that for the sale of their product, are exempt from the requirements to be licensed under sections 3 and 10 of the Act only as those requirements relate to the business carried on by them as security consultant.

(3) Section 3 of the Act does not apply to

(a) Crown corporations, or

(b) a corporation described in section 2 (6)1of the Engineers and Geoscientists Act.

(4) Sections 3 and 10 of the Act do not apply to

(a) employees of a Crown corporation acting in the performance of their duties,

(b) persons who are authorized under the Architects Act to practice the profession of architecture within the meaning of that Act, in the practice of that profession,

(c) professional engineers as defined in the Engineers and Geoscientists Act, in the practice of professional engineering as defined in that Act,

(d) an individual who

(i) is authorized by the Director of Film Classification under section 12 of the Motion Picture Act, and

(ii) is acting under contract to the government in the performance of his duties under the Motion Picture Act,

(e) an individual who

(i) is under contract to the government to carry out investigations and perform related services for purposes under the Liquor Distribution Act, and

(ii) is acting under that contract in the performance of his duties,

(f) an individual who

(i) is under contract to the government to carry out investigations and perform related services for purposes of the activities of the Public Gaming Branch of the Ministry of the Attorney General, and

(ii) is acting under that contract in the performance of his duties,

(g) a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of British Columbia, in the practice of the profession of accounting,

(h) a person pursuant to his contract with an airline to provide reservation, ticketing, baggage handling or similar services for the airline for which pre-board security screening forms an incidental part,

(i) an employee of a person described in paragraph (h) while conducting pre-board security screening as an incidental part of other duties under the contract, or

(j) a person and the person's employees while the person or employee is

(i) licensed or registered outside the Province, and

(ii) on railway property pursuant to a contract with the railway company to observe and report on employees of the railway company while they are performing duties that relate to a train trip in the Province.

[am. B.C. Regs. 400/85, s. 1; 216/87; 430/87; 231/88; 254/89.]

Prescribing "crime" for section 8 of the Act

4 For the purpose of section 8 of the Act

(a) an offence under section 33 of the Juvenile Delinquents Act, R.S.C. 1970, c. J-32,and

(b) an offence under the Criminal Code, R.S.C. 1985, c. C-46, that is punishable only on summary conviction are crimes.

Making or duplicating a restricted key

5 (1) No person other than the owner of a restricted key shall make or duplicate a restricted key unless he is

(a) the manufacturer of the key or a licensee, and

(b) authorized by the owner, or a person lawfully acting on behalf of the owner, of the restricted key.

(2) Proof of the authorization required by subsection (1) may be provided by the owner's signature following the name and address of the owner, or by the signature of the person lawfully acting on behalf of the owner following the name and address of that person and the name and address of the owner.

Marking a restricted key

6 A licensee who makes or duplicates a restricted key shall stamp or otherwise mark on the key

(a) his name, licence number or code, and

(b) unless exempted in writing by the owner of the key, a restrictive marking.

Security business licence fees

6.1 (1) There shall be paid to the registrar at the time that an application is made for a matter itemized in Column 1, the fee set out opposite that matter in Column 2.

Item Column 1 Column 2
1 For the issue of a security business licence where the applicant does not hold and has not held, for a period of at least one year from the date of application, a valid security business licence $500
2 For the renewal of a security business licence if the application is received before the expiry of the licence, for each category of security business licensed  $275
3 For the renewal of a security business licence if the application is received after the expiry of the licence but within one year after its expiry $325
4 For the issue of a duplicate security business licence if the original has been lost, stolen or destroyed $20

(2) A fee paid under this section is non-refundable.

(3) and (4) Repealed. [B.C. Reg. 231/2004, App. s. 1 (f).]

[en. B.C. Reg. 80/94, Sch. 2, s. 1; am. B.C. Reg. 231/2004, App. s. 1.]

Security employee licence fees

6.2 (1) There shall be paid to the registrar at the time that an application is made for a matter itemized in Column 1, the fee set out opposite that matter in Column 2.

Item Column 1 Column 2
1 For the issue of a security employee licence where the applicant does not hold, and has not held, for a period of at least one year from the date of application, a valid security employee licence $120
2
For the renewal of a security employee licence if the application is received before the expiry of the licence
(a)  for a security employee licensed in the category of security patrol, privateinvestigator or both:
(b)  for a security employee licensed in one or both of the categories referred to in paragraph (a) and one or more of the categories referred to in paragraph (c) (i) to (iii)
(c)  for a security employee licensed in neither of the categories referred to in paragraph (a) but in one or more of the following categories:
  (i) alarm service
  (ii) locksmith
  (iii) security consultant
$60
 
$60
 
 
$50
3 For the renewal of a security employee licence if the application is received after the expiry of the licence but within one year after its expiry  
$70
4 For the transfer of a valid security employee licence from one security business to another $20
5 For the issue of a duplicate security employee licence if the original has been, lost, stolen or destroyed $20

(2) Repealed. [B.C. Reg. 231/2004, App. s. 2 (g).]

(3) A fee paid under this section is non-refundable.

(4) Repealed. [B.C. Reg. 231/2004, App. s. 2 (i).]

[en. B.C. Reg. 80/94, Sch. 2, s. 1; am. B.C. Reg. 231/2004, App. s. 2.]

Licence fees

7 (1) Repealed. [B.C. Reg. 80/94, Sch. 2, s. 2 (a).]

(2) A fee shown in sections 6.1 and 6.2 is the fee for a licence that is valid for 12 months.

(3) A fee payable under sections 6.1 and 6.2 shall be calculated using the appropriate fee set out in those sections prorated to cover the period of validity of the licence to the nearest whole month.

(4) The minimum fee payable under this section shall be 50% of the appropriate fee set out in sections 6.1 and 6.2.

[am. B.C. Reg. 80/94, Sch. 2, s. 2.]

Section Repealed

8 Repealed. [B.C. Reg. 80/94, Sch. 2, s. 3.]

Appeal deposit

9 The deposit required by section 19 of the Act shall be

(a) $100 for an individual with respect to a security employee licence,

(b) $150 for an individual with respect to a security business licence, and

(c) $250 for a corporation with respect to a security business licence.

Investigations

10 Where the registrar makes a request under section 17 of the Act, investigation of the background of the applicant or licensee under investigation shall include an examination of the fingerprint files for any record of that applicant or licensee.

Offences

11 A person who contravenes sections 2, 5 or 6 is guilty of an offence and is liable on conviction to a penalty not greater than the penalties provided in the Offence Act.

Forms

12 The following forms shall be in a form satisfactory to the registrar:

(a) an application for a security business licence;

(b) an application for a security employee licence;

(c) a security business licence;

(d) a security employee licence.

[en. B.C. Reg. 23/95, s. (a).]

Schedule A

Repealed. [B.C. Reg. 80/94, Sch. 2, s. 4.]

Schedules B, C, D, E and F

Repealed. [B.C. Reg. 23/95, s. (b).]

 

[Provisions of the Private Investigators and Security Agencies Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 374, relevant to the enactment of this regulation: section 31 (1) and (2)]


1. Section 2 (6) of the Engineers and Geoscientists Act was repealed by 1993-43-2.
2. The Juvenile Delinquents Act was repealed by the Young Offenders Act [S.C. 1980/81/82/83, c. 110, s. 80].

Copyright (c) Queen's Printer, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada