Estonia to legalize its private detectives

Estonia's Cabinet of Ministers passed a bill that would create a private detective service to the Parliament on June 18, taking the first step to legalize the trade.

"Estonia never had a law on private detective work although it is indirectly described in other legal acts," said Minister of Interior Ain Seppik.

According to Seppik, the bill is part of the ruling coalition's strategy to "stimulate cooperation between the private sector, the local governments and the state to create new possibilities for (fighting) crime."

Under the bill, any Estonian citizen at least 21 years old with a language proficiency certificate and at least a high school education may apply for a private detective's license. Qualified applicants then must pass a test to receive a license.

A licensed detective must first present a signed contract with a client to begin working on a case, according to the bill.

Seppik said private detectives would have no access to police databases except the crime code.

Only private detectives can form companies and work. Police officers are forbidden to moonlight as private eyes.

There is currently at least two unlicensed and unregistered detective agencies currently working in Estonia, offering the full range of shadowing and information research services. The DeFerdico agency keeps in touch with clients mostly through the Internet.

"We do not have a license, but this does not hamper our work, and we have enough clients," the company's Web site reads..

Margus Eensoo, head of the unregistered agency Pinker Alberti Detektiiviburoo Ltd. based in Tartu, said the law was needed.

Pinker Alberti Detektiiviburoo Ltd. mostly works on cases involving debt recollection and information gathering.

"As there is no law on private detectives in Estonia at the moment, we do not advertise ourselves too much," said Eensoo. "But Estonia surely needs the law."

He said the current bill hadsome shortcomings.

"There is no decent description of how hidden surveillance differs from public surveillance," Eensoo said.

Another unregistered detective agency, SIA, was closed in 1995 after security police recovered several tapes containing conversations between Center Party head and current Tallinn Mayor Edgar Savisaar and a former interior minister speaking to other political figures.