Private investigators in Massachusetts petitioned state lawmakers Tuesday to give them online access to a swath of records held by the Registry of Motor Vehicles, a move they said is necessary to save time and taxpayer dollars.
Detectives can already get their hands on many RMV records but they are required to go in person to pick them up, a scenario that can often take hours and prove inconvenient for those who work far away from a service center, said Martin Kraft, vice president of the Licensed Private Detectives Association of Massachusetts.
Private investigators working a case for the Committee for Public Counsel Services, a state-funded agency that provides legal counsel for the indigent, can charge up to $75 an hour, including for time spent retrieving records from the Registry of Motor Vehicles, according to the association.
Kraft and the association are backing legislation from Sen. John Keenan and Rep. Rob Consalvo that would give private eyes online access to RMV records they can already obtain,
“If you can imagine a Springfield investigator working a CPCS case, or any other type of case, having to drive to Boston, pay for parking, wait in line, not to be able to make an appointment online for something that could have been done in 10 minutes at the click of a mouse in 2023. The infrastructure is already there,” said Stan Vogt, president of both the Licensed Private Detectives Association of Massachusetts and Four Seasons Investigations.
The private investigations industry generated roughly $7 billion in business in 2021, according to the Licensed Private Detectives Association of Massachusetts. and the State Police have certified 753 active private investigators, said Kraft, who runs the Kraft Investigations Group Boston.
Keenan and Consalvo’s bill updates state law to include private investigators on the list of entities that can directly or indirectly access computer terminals run by the RMV.
Private investigators could have their licenses revoked if they use RMV computer data or equipment for any other business than what they are legally allowed to do. They could also lose their license under the proposal if they access the facial recognition system operated by the RMV.
Keenan said the bill was filed for the first time last session but lawmakers sent it to study, a move that effectively ends its chance of becoming law.
Streamlining access for private investigators to RMV records saves the state money, Keenan said.
“This would give them access more quickly and efficiently to the same information. It might be a different bill if it was seeking greater information, but it’s not,” the Quincy Democrat told the Herald. “They’re basically seeking the same information that they have historically sought but want the opportunity to do it in a more streamlined fashion.”