How To Become A Private Investigator In Singapore?

Private investigators are individuals who are tasked with duty to identify and gather evidence on behalf of their clients and relay their findings to these clients at a few. Clients can either be a company or an individual who would like some information gathered for them. A private investigator can therefore work for different people in different fields and will in most cases be self-employed. While being a private investigator may not be as glamorous as seen on TV, it can be an exiting career for those who have the right skills for the job.

If you want to be a private investigator in Singapore, there are various requirements that you need to fulfil. Below is a simple guide on how to become a private investigator in Singapore in three simple steps

1. Evaluate your qualities, skills and interests

Just like in any other career, you need to have interpersonal skills and qualities that will determine how good you will be in this career. You also have to be interested in the said career for you to be successful. In the case of a private investigator some of the required qualities, skills and interests include;

– Excellent communication skills
– Be very observant and pay attention to details
– Have an in depth understanding of the law
– Be confident and courageous enough to present your findings even in a court of law when the occasion call for it
– have integrity
– Be patient
– Be able to work independently
– Have empathy to deal with devastated clients especially when you delivering distressing findings

While it may be impossible for anyone to have all the above mentioned skills, having most of them will help you a great deal and ensure that you will remain focused and be successful in this job without felling the need to change your chosen career in the near future.

2. Get the necessary qualifications

Academic qualifications equip you with the knowledge and skills that you will require a private investigator. Any course in the line of criminology, political science and criminal justice just to mention but a few will prepare you for this job. These courses will equip you with the knowledge that you will apply when gathering evidence, piecing the investigation pieces together and handling various legal documents that you will come across in the line of duty.

Apart from academic qualifications, most people who go into the private investigation business normally go a step further and get on the job training before they can apply for a license. The training chosen will depending on the line that one wants to concentrate on given that the private investigation field is quite broad and cover different fields ranging from fraud investigations to tracing missing persons.

Both academic qualifications and experience gained on the job work to get you the recognition you require to attract clients. Academic qualification is also a requirement by most firms dealing with private investigation.


3. Get an operating license from relevant authorities

For you to work as a private investigator in Singapore, you have to be licensed by the relevant authority. Conditions for qualifying for a license include;

– You should be above the age of 16
– You should be certified by a medical doctor to be physically fit for this job. For those above the age of 60 this certification should be done annually.

If these requirements are fulfilled, an operating license valid for five years is issued. After receiving your license, you are required to pass a Perform Investigation Activities in Compliance with Legal Requirements module and obtain Workforce Skills Qualifications (WSQ) before you are deployed.

You are required to always have your identification card with you for identification purposes under Section 20 of the Private Security Industry Act. Your identification card however does not give you any rights over the others and you have to carry out your duties in adherence to the law.

Based on the above conditions, you should be able to decide whether a career as a private investigator is the right path for you. If you are sure that this is what you would like to do, start taking the necessary steps towards getting qualified for your desired career and use the points discussed above to guide you throughout your journey.