(a) The holder of any license certificate issued pursuant to this act may employ to assist him in his work of private detective or investigator as described in section 2 and in the conduct of such business as many persons as he may deem necessary, and shall at all times during such employment be legally responsible for the good conduct in the business of each and every person so employed and shall be responsible for the reasonable supervision of said employes' conduct. No holder of any unexpired license certificate issued pursuant to this act shall knowingly employ in connection with his or its business, in any capacity whatsoever, any person who has been convicted of a felony, or any of the following offenses, and who has not, subsequent to such conviction, received executive pardon therefor removing this disability:
(1) illegally using, carrying or possessing a pistol or other dangerous weapon; (2) making or possessing burglar's instruments; (3) buying or receiving stolen property; (4) unlawful entry of a building; (5) aiding escape from prison; (6) unlawfully possessing or distributing habit forming narcotic drugs; (7) picking pockets or attempting to do so; (8) soliciting any person to commit sodomy or other lewdness; (9) any person whose private detective or investigator's license was revoked or application for such license was denied by the court of common pleas or by the authorities of any other state or territory because of conviction of any of the crimes or offenses specified in this section; (10) recklessly endangering another person; (11) terroristic threats; or (12) committing simple assault. A holder of an unexpired license certificate issued pursuant to this act who knowingly employs a person who has been convicted of a felony or any of the offenses specified in this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be sentenced to pay a fine of not more than five thousand dollars ($5000) or to undergo imprisonment for not more than one (1) year, or both.
A first conviction for violation of this section may subject the license holder to revocation of his license by the issuing authority.
Upon the second conviction of a license holder for knowingly hiring a person convicted of a felony or other specified offenses in this section, the license of said holder shall be revoked.
Should the holder of an unexpired license certificate falsely state or represent that a person is or has been in his employ, such false statement or misrepresentation shall be sufficient cause for the revocation of such license. Any person falsely stating or representing that he is or has been a detective or employed by a detective agency shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be sentenced to pay a fine of not more than five hundred dollars ($500) or to undergo imprisonment for not more than one (1) year, or both.
(b) No person shall hereafter be employed by any holder of a license certificate until he shall have executed and furnished to such license certificate holder a verified statement to be known as "employe's statement," setting forth:(1) His full name, age and residence address;(2) The country of which he is a citizen;(3) The business or occupation engaged in for the three years immediately preceding the date of the filing of the statement, setting forth the place or places where such business or occupation was engaged in, and the name or names of employers, if any;(4) That he has not been convicted of a felony, or of any offense involving moral turpitude, or of any of the misdemeanors or offenses described in subsection (a) of this section;(5) That he holds current and valid certification under the act of October 10, 1974 (P.L. 705, No. 235), known as the "Lethal Weapons Training Act," if, as an incidence to employment, he will carry a lethal weapon.(6) Such further information as the court of common pleas may by rule require to show the good character, competency and integrity of the person executing the statement.(c) The license holder shall act with due diligence in taking the necessary steps to ensure the veracity of the employe's statement, and immediately upon the verification of an employe's statement, the holder of a license certificate by whom such person has been or is to be employed shall cause two sets of fingerprints of the two hands of such person to be recorded in such manner as the court of common pleas may by rule prescribe. The holder of a license certificate shall immediately stamp, in indelible ink, the employe's statement and each set of fingerprints with the name, year and license certificate number of such holder, and a number, which number shall be determined by the number of such statements furnished to such holder and shall be in numerical sequence.(d) The holder of a license certificate shall affix one set of such fingerprints to the employe's statement, in such manner that the prints can be examined without disclosing the contents of the employe's statement, and shall retain such statement and prints so long as he shall be licensed under this act.(e) The holder of a license certificate shall file the other set of fingerprints with the court of common pleas. Proof of the employe's current and valid certification under the "Lethal Weapons Training Act," must also be submitted to the court if the employe will carry a lethal weapon as an incidence to employment.(f) Within five days after the filing of such fingerprints, the court of quarter sessions shall cause such fingerprints to be compared with fingerprints of criminals now or hereafter filed in the records of the Pennsylvania State Police, and if the court finds any record affecting such prints, it shall immediately notify the holder of such license certificate and shall also refer the matter to the district attorney of the county. The quarter sessions court may also, from time to time, cause such fingerprints to be checked against the fingerprints of criminals now or hereafter filed in the records of the Pennsylvania State Police or of other official fingerprint files within or without this Commonwealth, and if the court finds that such person has been convicted of a felony or any other offense specified in subsection (a) of this section, he shall immediately notify the holder of such license certificate and shall also refer the matter to the district attorney. The quarter sessions court shall at all times be given access to and may from time to time examine the fingerprints retained by the holder of a license certificate as provided in subsection (d) of this section.(g) If any holder of a certificate shall file with the quarter sessions court the fingerprints of a person other than the person so employed he shall be subject to a fine not exceeding five thousand dollars ($5,000) or to imprisonment not exceeding one (1) year, or both.1953, Aug. 21, P.L. 1273, §13. Amended 1988 , May 26, P.L. 405, No. 68, § 2, effective in 60 days.