Do Private Investigators Carry Guns?

 By Steve Pease, retired PI and writer

  Genre fiction is beset with clichés. Medical shows on TV, cop shows, PI shows. The tropes come with the territory and readers won’t feel entertained if some clichés aren’t there. Here’s one of the biggest PI clichés.

   You know the scene. The PI confronts the bad guy and a gunfight breaks out. The PI has a 38 Colt snubbie on his belt or under his arm; the bad guy has a 45 Auto or a machine gun. I guess that evens things out. The bad guy takes one in the arm or shoulder, but the PI is seldom hit.

   In reality, PIs seldom carry anything lethal, maybe pepper spray.

   What do I do? I have training in firearms, from the military and civilian companies, and I practice at a civilian range where I shoot 25-50 rounds each from several different guns quarterly. I carry a knife in my coin pocket, sometimes others secretly here and there. I have a SIG 9mm and a Beretta 22 off-body, ie not in a shoulder holster or on my belt. They’re in bags I’m carrying. Both are automatics. My 38 Special snubnose revolver (of course I have one!) is at home because it’s too big to carry. I have a coin purse that makes a fine blackjack. Sometimes I carry the small Beretta in an ankle holster or in an in-pants hidden holster. I have a million-volt stunner and some old bear spray – in the bags.

   I meet my clients in a non-advertised office and I seldom carry a weapon when investigating. My assisted-opening folding pocket knife is mostly a tool. I work at my computer where guns aren’t needed and I go to the Courthouse where guns aren’t allowed.

   I have been threatened by Subjects, pissed-off husbands, neighbors, and strangers. My fault for being discovered (burned) in the first place. I’m not sure I want to conduct investigations at a location where I might need the guns. I don’t take jobs in bad neighborhoods at night, but maybe during the day. I don’t drive a car with anonymous plates, but that’s a thought for the future. My office has no sign on the building or on my door. I have a Colorado Concealed Carry Permit. I sometimes carry because of the mass shootings you read about, not because of my business. I am in the information business.

   A PI has NO special legal privileges to carry a gun. Even PIs who have retired Police credentials have to understand they no longer are cops and can’t pull their gun to intimidate or influence perps. The court can take their guns away. And their license.

   PI specialties that call for weapons, like Executive Protection ie bodyguard, are Very specialized. In New Mexico, it requires a special armed PI license, proof of expensive training, and Very Expensive insurance. I had a guy with a problem that wanted protection during a financial transaction. He thought that should cost $100. “You guys do that, right?” I declined, saying I wasn’t trained or licensed and, anyway, the fee would be $5000+.

   Guns are good in fictional action scenes, but I usually use a non-lethal alternative. The alternative works well in real life too.