– Not everyone has the knowledge or qualities to run this type of business, says private investigator John Christian Grøttum. Before he started as a private investigator in 1995, he worked for a number of years as a homicide investigator in Kripos. Today, private investigator is not a protected title. This means that anyone can offer such services. It doesn’t matter what kind of skills you have. Grøttum wants to change that. He believes it is high time that there is a requirement for authorization to operate as a private investigator in Norway. It also means that a supervisory body should be established which can see the investigators at a glance. – You must then of course also establish a set of regulations, and if it is breached, you lose your authorisation, says Grøttum. Fraud for millions In March, a 62-year-old man from Østfold was sentenced to prison for serious fraud. He conned almost NOK 2 million from a 94-year-old woman. In local newspapers he advertised his services as a private investigator. One of the advertisements was printed in the summer of 2018. It says that the man convicted of fraud undertakes “all types of investigations” both at home and abroad. The now convicted 62-year-old had, among other things, this advertisement in print in a local newspaper. Shortly after the verdict against the 62-year-old was handed down, his defender told news that the sentence would most likely be appealed. Grøttum fears fraud cases of this type can help to delegitimize the serious part of the industry. – When people experience such cases, they tend to believe that most people are like that. Does not gain traction The former Kripos investigator is also a leader of the Norwegian Association for Investigation and Safety (NFES). NFES has worked for several years to put an authorization scheme in place. So far, they have not received approval for the proposal. – It stops at the Ministry of Justice. They are very measured, and reject all demands for exactly that, says Grøttum. The Norwegian Association for Investigation and Safety (NFES) has around 40 members. According to manager John Christian Grøttum, this is the majority of private investigators in Norway. Photo: news The Ministry of Justice and Emergency Preparedness confirms that the association has approached them both in 2010 and 2015. Both times the ministry was asked to sort out an authorization scheme for private investigators. Thinks it is unnecessary In 2010, the ministry pointed out that such a scheme had been paid out three times previously. None of the analyzes concluded that a special arrangement for private investigators was necessary. – The ministry also pointed out that an authorization scheme would mean that the industry would be given special rights, writes communications adviser Linda Hafstad in an e-mail to news. Five years later, NFES tried again to get the scheme heard. Also then, the ministry referred to the earlier findings. – After this, no information has come to light that has given the ministry grounds for reconsidering its position, writes Hafstad.
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Will have an authorization scheme for private investigators – news Oslo and Viken – Local news, TV and radio
