CHAPTER
210
INQUIRY AGENTS AND SECURITY GUARDS |
ARRANGEMENT OF
SECTIONS |
SECTION |
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Inquiry agents and security guards to be
licensed. |
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Suspension and cancellation. |
Decision of Minister final. |
Cancellation of licence when inquiry agents or
security guards cease to be employed as such. |
Employer to ensure employees licensed. |
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CHAPTER 210 |
INQUIRY AGENTS AND
SECURITY GUARDS |
An Act to
regulate and control the activities of inquiry agents and security guards in
The Bahamas. | 19 of 1976 |
[Assent 8th
December, 1976]
[Commencement 30th June, 1977] |
1. This Act may be cited as the Inquiry Agents and
Security Guards Act. | Short title. |
2. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires- | Interpretation. |
"Bahamian"
means- |
(a) a citizen
of The Bahamas; |
(b) a company
registered under the
Companies Act in which all the shares are beneficially owned by
"Bahamians"; |
"beneficially
owned" shall be construed as in section 59 of the
Companies Act; |
"inquiry
agent" means a person who for hire or reward searches for and furnishes
information as to the personal character and actions of a person, or the
character or kind of business or occupation of a person; |
"licence"
means a licence under this Act; |
"licensee"
means the holder of a licence; |
"Minister"
means the Minister responsible for Internal Security; |
"regulations"
means regulations made under section 17; |
"security
guard" means a person who, for hire or reward, guards or patrols for the
purposes of protecting persons or property. |
3. This Act shall not apply to- | Application of the Act. |
(a) counsel and
attorneys in the practice of their profession, or to their employees while
acting in the usual and regular scope of their employment; |
(b) persons who
search for and furnish information- |
(i) as
to the financial credit rating of persons; |
(ii) to
employers as to the qualifications and suitability of their employees or
prospective employees; |
(iii) as
to the qualifications and suitability of applicants for insurance and indemnity
bonds, |
and who do
not otherwise act as inquiry agents; |
(c) the Royal
Bahamas Police Force or any person acting under the authority of any Act; |
(d) insurance
adjusters and their employees while acting in the usual and regular scope of
their employment; |
(e) insurance
companies lawfully carrying on business in The Bahamas and their employees
while acting in the usual and regular scope of their employment; |
(f) inquiry
agents and security guards who are permanently employed by one employer on or
in the vicinity of that employer's premises in a business or undertaking other
than the business of providing inquiry agents or security guards and whose work
is confined to the affairs of that employer; |
(g) any class
of persons excepted by the regulations. |
4. (1) No person shall- | Inquiry agents and security guards to be licensed. |
(a) engage in
the business of providing inquiry agents or security guards; |
(b) act as an
inquiry agent or security guard, unless he is a Bahamian and is the holder of a
licence therefor. |
(2) No person
shall hold himself out as acting as an inquiry agent or a security guard or as
being engaged in the business of providing inquiry agents or security guards
unless he is a Bahamian and is licensed under this Act. |
(3) Any person who
contravenes subsection (1) or (2) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be
liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding two thousand dollars or to
imprisonment for a term not exceeding twelve months or both. |
5. (1) A licence shall be granted by the Minister and
shall- | Licences. |
(a) be in the
prescribed form; |
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(c) be issued
on the payment of the prescribed fee; |
(d) be valid
for a period of one year commencing on the 1st day of January in any year and
terminating on the 31st day of December next following that date; |
(e) specify the
conditions subject to which it is granted. |
(2) An application
for a licence shall be made in such manner as the Minister may determine. |
(3) The Minister
may make such inquiry and investigation as he thinks fit regarding the
character, antecedents, financial position and competence of an applicant for a
licence. |
6. A licence may be refused by the Minister on the
following grounds- | Refusal of licences. |
(a) that the
applicant has been convicted of any offence against this Act; or |
(b) that he is
not satisfied as to the character or antecedents or competence of the
applicant; or |
(c) in the case
of an applicant for a licence to engage in the business of providing inquiry
agents or security guards, that the Minister is not satisfied as to the
financial position of the applicant. |
7. (1) Where a person applies for a licence to act as
an inquiry agent or security guard, the Minister may, pending his decision,
issue a temporary licence so to act for a period stated in the licence, but not
exceeding three months. | Temporary licences. |
(2) Where a person
who is licensed to engage in the business of providing inquiry agents or
security guards dies, the Minister may grant to his executor or administrator a
temporary licence, valid for such period as shall be specified therein. |
8. The Minister may, after giving the licensee an
opportunity to be heard, suspend or cancel a licence where- | Suspension and cancellation. |
(a) the
licensee is convicted of an offence under this Act; |
(b) the
licensee is convicted of an offence under the Penal Code or of any offence of which violence or dishonesty is
an element. |
9. Any decision made by the Minister in the exercise of
his powers under this Act shall be final and conclusive. | Decisions of Minister final. |
10. (1) The licence of an inquiry agent or security
guard shall be cancelled by operation of law upon his ceasing to be employed as
such. | Cancellation of licence when inquiry agents or
security guards cease to be employed as such. |
(2) When a
licensed inquiry agent or security guard ceases to be employed as such, he shall
immediately forward his licence to the Minister. |
(3) Every person
who is licensed to engage in the business of providing inquiry agents or
security guards shall immediately upon the termination of such business forward
to the Minister his licence. |
(4) Any person
who, without reasonable excuse, fails to forward a licence to the Minister as
soon as reasonably practicable after he is required so to forward it under this
section, shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary
conviction to a fine not exceeding one hundred dollars. |
11. (1) No person engaged in the business of providing
inquiry agents or security guards shall employ as an inquiry agent or security
guard a person who is not the holder of a licence. | Employer to ensure employees licensed. |
(2) Any person who
contravenes the provisions of subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and
shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding two thousand
dollars or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding twelve months or both. |
12. (1) No person shall engage in the business of
providing inquiry agents or security guards in a name other than that in which
he is licensed. | Name of business. |
(2) Any person who
contravenes the provisions of subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and
shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding one thousand
dollars or to Imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or both. |
13. (1) Every inquiry agent shall, while
investigating, carry on his person his licence and shall produce it for
inspection at the request of any police officer or other person having
reasonable ground therefor. | Means of identification. |
(2) Every security
guard shall wear a badge of a design, and in the manner, prescribed in the
regulations, while acting as a security guard. |
(3) Every security
guard while on duty shall carry on his person his licence and shall produce it
for inspection at the request of any police officer or other person having
reasonable grounds therefor. |
(4) Any inquiry
agent or security guard who contravenes the provisions of this section shall be
guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not
exceeding five hundred dollars or to a term of imprisonment not exceeding one
month or both. |
14. (1) The Minister may, for the purposes of this
Act, by notice in writing, require any licensee to furnish to him within the
time specified in the notice, such information, being information relevant to
the discharge by the Minister of his functions under this Act, as the Minister
specifies. | Information. |
(2) Any person who
fails to comply with a notice under this section shall be guilty of an offence
and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding five hundred
dollars or to a term of imprisonment not exceeding one month or both. |
15. (1) Every person who- | Offences. |
(a) knowingly
furnishes false information in any application under this Act or in any
statement required to be furnished under this Act or the regulations; or |
(b) being a
licensee, fails to comply with any condition of his licence; or |
(c) fails to
keep any books or records or furnish any return required to be kept or
furnished under the regulations, |
shall be
guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not
exceeding one thousand dollars or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six
months or both. |
(2) Any person who
with intent to deceive, impersonates an inquiry agent or a security guard, or
makes any statement or does any act calculated falsely to suggest that he is
such an agent or guard, shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on
summary conviction to a fine not exceeding two thousand dollars or to
imprisonment for a term not exceeding twelve months or both. |
16. A certificate of the Minister- | Evidence. |
(a) that a
person was or was not, at any date, the holder of a licence; |
(b) as to the
conditions subject to which any licence was issued; |
(c) that any
document required to be forwarded to the Minister under this Act has, or has
not, been forwarded, and if forwarded, the date upon which it was received, |
shall be
sufficient evidence of the fact until the contrary is proved. |
17. The Minister may make regulations- | Regulations. |
(a) prescribing
the classes of persons who shall be exempt from this Act or from any provision
thereof, in addition to those classes of persons mentioned in section 3; |
(b) prescribing
the forms to be used for the purposes of this Act; |
(c) prescribing
the fees payable for licences granted under this Act; |
(d) requiring
the keeping of such books and records and the furnishing of such information
and returns by licensees as are prescribed in the regulations; |
(e) governing
the badges and the uniforms of security guards; |
(f) prescribing
offences for the contravention of, or the failure to comply with, the
provisions of the regulations; |
(g) generally
for the better carrying out of the objects and purposes of this Act. |