Rebecca (and Fellow Ohio Trainees) -
Here's some info you may find helpful:
PI's are now regulated by the Ohio Department of Homeland Security. Information is available at
http://www.homelandsecurity.ohio.gov/pisg.htm.
If you are looking to set up a business as a PI, visit the Ohio First Stop Business Connection website at
http://www.odod.state.oh.us/onestop/. Follow the instructions to get all the documents you'll need to start the process of building your business. When asked for the type of business, search "Private Investigator" to get the right docs.
(These sites can be accessed from the homepage at
http://ohio.gov/.)
A PI trainee is not defined in the statute as far as I can tell, but employees of licensed PI's or PI Corporations are well defined. Furthermore, the statute does not address unlicensed independent contractors. The focus is on licensed PI's and their employees. Having read this, I won't even begin to pretend I understand the extent of the regulations regarding PI trainees and employee status vs. independent contractor. Thus, my questions!
The definition of the business of Private Investigation is broadly written, and the exemptions (in contrast) are narrowly defined. These regulations, by my read, strictly limit the type and scope of work an unlicensed PI can do. The other side of the coin is that you have to have 4000 hours of experience in the two years immediately preceding license application, or an applicable degree and 2000 hours in the preceding year. To get a license, you have to have full-time trainee experience, so obviously unlicensed PI work is allowed under the statute.
How does one go about being an unlicensed trainee when it reads as if a license is just about always required, unless you meet the narrowly defined exemptions? Do you have to be an employee as a trainee or can you be independent? In other words, what exactly are the circumstances that one can gain experience as a PI, without being licensed in Ohio, in order to get licensed in Ohio?
Regarding the required experience, at some point (if you want to be licensed in Ohio) you have to work full-time as a PI trainee. Is there any flexibility in the experience requirement if you are full-time in some other profession not related to law enforcement or investigation and still want to be licensed (for example, getting the hours over a greater number of years)?
Hope the websites help, and thanks for any further info you, or anyone else, may have.