Minnesota officials fight back against unlicensed security companies: "You need to be licensed"
MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota officials are fighting back against what they say is a major problem: unlicensed security companies.
The Private Detective and Protective Agent Services Board, which is responsible for licensing, is suing Men in Black Security for operating without a license.
The company pitched its services earlier this year for a contract with the city of Brooklyn Park.
During the presentation, Men in Black said they call themselves "de-escalation specialists," and declared, "We are not security."
The state of Minnesota disagrees.
"They are providing for crowd control, sometimes they're armed with either firearms or other types of weapons," said board chair Rick Hodsdon. "These are all clearly security functions from our perspective."
According to the lawsuit, Men in Black's license was denied because of the owner's "past conviction for illegally possessing a pistol."
It says, "Despite the license denial, Defendants continue to advertise and provide protective agent services in Minnesota without licensure."
"You need to be licensed to make sure you and your people are trained, that they're accountable and that they're not criminals," Hodsdon said. "That's why we have licenses. When an entity or individual simply thumbs their nose at the process, that is when we sought injunctive relief."
After first approving the contract with Men in Black, Brooklyn Park didn't go through with it since learning the state was investigating the company.
Men in Black told WCCO it will not comment on the state's lawsuit at this time.
The company website doesn't say "security" anywhere, but the lawsuit claims the website was scrubbed of "security" mentions only earlier this year.
"A rose by any other name, as the old saying goes," Hodsdon said.
He says doing unlicensed security is a crime, and they're seeing more law enforcement agencies take interest in investigating.
A list of properly licensed security agencies can be found here.
