Ontario Private Investigator flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

PSISA licence requirement

In Ontario, a person must hold a valid Private Security and Investigative Services Act licence to act as a private investigator or hold out as one; unlicensed practice is an offence.

Registrar's licence powers

Ontario's Registrar of Private Security and Investigative Services may refuse, suspend, revoke, or attach conditions to a licence and may investigate complaints; affected licensees can appeal to the Licence Appeal Tribunal.

PSISA Code of Conduct

Ontario Regulation 53/07 under the PSISA sets conduct standards for licensees, including honesty, integrity, avoiding unnecessary force, maintaining confidentiality, and cooperating with the Registrar and police.

PSISA offence penalties

Under the PSISA, an individual convicted of an offence may face a fine of up to $25,000 and/or up to one year imprisonment; a corporation may face a fine of up to $250,000.

Citizen's arrest authority

Criminal Code section 494 lets anyone arrest without warrant a person found committing an indictable offence, or reasonably believed to have committed a criminal offence and escaping fresh pursuit, then deliver the person to police forthwith.

Reasonable force standard

Criminal Code section 25 permits only the force reasonably necessary in the circumstances when a person acts on reasonable grounds to enforce the law or make an arrest; excessive force is an offence under section 26.

Criminal harassment elements

Criminal Code section 264 prohibits repeated conduct that causes a person to reasonably fear for their safety or that of someone known to them, without lawful authority; it is a hybrid offence.

Interception of communications

Criminal Code section 184 prohibits intercepting private communications without lawful authority; section 184(2)(a) allows interception with the consent of one party to the communication.

Charter section 10(b)

Section 10(b) of the Canadian Charter gives everyone arrested or detained the right to retain and instruct counsel without delay and to be informed of that right; police must give a reasonable opportunity to exercise it.

Charter section 24(2)

Charter section 24(2) requires a court to exclude evidence obtained in a manner that infringed Charter rights if admitting it would bring the administration of justice into disrepute, considering seriousness, impact, and society's interest.

Provincial Offences Act limitation

Ontario's Provincial Offences Act generally requires proceedings for a provincial offence to be commenced within six months after the alleged offence, unless a statute provides a different limitation period.

Trespass to Property Act arrest

Ontario's Trespass to Property Act lets an occupier or authorized agent arrest without warrant a person found committing trespass who refuses to leave, using reasonable force, and deliver the person to police.

Private investigator powers

A licensed Ontario private investigator has no special police powers; authority comes from the client's consent, contract, and the same statutes available to any citizen, such as citizen's arrest and self-defence.

Retainer scope

A private investigation retainer should define the client's objectives, lawful scope, budget, reporting schedule, confidentiality terms, conflicts of interest, and the investigator's authority, so the work stays within legal and ethical boundaries.

Skip tracing lawful sources

Skip tracing must use lawful, consent-based or publicly available sources; private investigators cannot access CPIC, Motor Vehicle records, or credit information without legal authority or proper consent.

Chain of custody

Chain of custody is the documented, unbroken record of who handled an exhibit, when, where, and why, from seizure to court, used to prove the item is authentic and unaltered.

Hearsay evidence

Hearsay is an out-of-court statement offered to prove the truth of its contents; it is generally inadmissible unless a recognized exception, such as business records or dying declarations, applies.

Burden and standard

In criminal cases the Crown bears the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt; in civil cases the plaintiff proves the claim on a balance of probabilities; arrests and searches require reasonable grounds.

Best evidence rule

The best evidence rule prefers an original document or recording when its contents are in issue; copies may be admitted with an explanation, and electronic records must be authenticated with reliable metadata or hash values.

Surveillance log

A surveillance log is a contemporaneous record noting date, time, location, subject, observations, actions, weather, and video or photo references, forming the factual basis for the investigator's later report and testimony.

Mobile surveillance tactics

Mobile surveillance uses distance, lane changes, multiple vehicles, and radio communication to follow a subject without detection, while obeying traffic laws and avoiding confrontation or unnecessary risk.

Covert video legality

Covert video is lawful in public places where there is no reasonable expectation of privacy, but recording in private places, voyeurism, harassment, or trespass can create criminal and civil liability.

Voluntariness of statements

A statement is voluntary only if made without threats, promises, inducements, oppression, or other conduct that could overcome the speaker's will; the Crown must prove voluntariness beyond a reasonable doubt in a voir dire.

Youth statement caution

Under the Youth Criminal Justice Act section 146, a young person's statement is admissible only if voluntary, made after a clear caution in language they understand, with rights to counsel and a parent or adult explained.

Cognitive interview

The cognitive interview is a witness questioning method that uses open-ended prompts, mental reinstatement of context, varied retrieval, and closure to improve accurate recall without leading or contaminating the witness.

Contemporaneous notes

Contemporaneous notes are made at or near the time of an event, recording date, time, location, persons, actions, observations, and statements in ink, with errors struck through and initialled rather than erased.

Report structure

A professional investigation report typically contains an introduction, executive summary, methodology, chronological observations, findings, conclusion, recommendations, and attached exhibits, separating fact from inference and opinion.

Notes as disclosure

Investigator notes are generally disclosable to the Crown and defence, may be used to refresh memory in court, and can be cross-examined, so they must be accurate, complete, retained, and never destroyed after litigation is anticipated.

Examination-in-chief

Examination-in-chief is the questioning of a witness by the party who called them, using non-leading questions to present relevant, admissible evidence in a clear chronological order before cross-examination.

Cross-examination purpose

Cross-examination tests a witness's accuracy, credibility, and bias through leading questions, prior inconsistent statements, and carefully controlled questions, while counsel must comply with court rules and ethical limits.

Conflict of interest

A conflict of interest exists when an investigator's personal, financial, or other interest could bias the work; it must be disclosed, avoided, or managed with informed client consent and documented.

Professional confidentiality

Private investigators must keep client information confidential, share it only on a need-to-know basis, store it securely, and comply with privacy laws such as PIPEDA and applicable provincial privacy rules.