The Chief Commissioner of Police has powers to refuse a private detective licence, but can a council actually prevent you from being granted a private detective licence? As usual with questions of legality, regulation and the variety of circumstances sometimes involved, when it comes to private detective licensing appeals answers are not quite so clear cut. Before issuing a private detective licence, the Chief Commissioner of Police must be satisfied that the applicant is a ‘proper person‘.
If the Chief Commissioner of Police refuses to issue a licence, you can object in accordance with the General Administrative Law Act (Algemene wet bestuursrecht) to the Chief Commissioner of Police. If that objection and review is unsuccessful, the private detective can still make an appeal to the District Court. At this stage the burden of proof is on the Chief Commissioner of Police to prove that the private detective is not aproper person. The Chief Commissioner of Police may also attach certain conditions on a private detective, against which it is also possible to launch an appeal.
