TEW: A-ETOKNEY GENERAL 

OF TEXAS 

August 5, 1970 

Mr. J. Mason Lankford, Jr. 

Chairman 

Board of Private Detectives,. Investigators, '~ ,:' ..' 

Patrolmen, Guardsmen, and Managers~::. 

P.0. BOX '12577, Capitol Station ., 

Austin, Texas 78i’11 Opinion No. M-664 '. ,, ", 

Re: Applicability'of.Article 4413 

(29bb), V.C.S., to certain 

Dear Chairman Lankford: situations. 

You have asked an opinion of this office concerning 

the applicability of Article 4413(29bb), Vernon's Civil 

Statutes, to certain situations. Rephrased, your questions are as follows: 

Can an unlicensed off-duty policeman of 

a municipal police department or other 

political subdivision of this state. 

employ other off-duty policemen or 

officers in a private enterprise to perform guard duty or patrol duty under the 

provisions of Section 14(a) of Article 

4413(29bb), without being licensed under 

this Article7 

Can an alarm agency, approved by the State 

Board of Insurance, perform the following 

services subsequent to installations of an 

alarm system and incident to the sounding 

of an alarm, without its personnel obtaining a license: Send their representative 

to answer the alarm, furnish a key to 

police officers for entrance to the premises, assist the police as they may re- ~, 

quest in their check of the premises, and 

reset the alarm after the police have 

finished their work3 

-3171- 
Mr. J. Mason Lankford, Jr., Page 2, (M-664 ) 

The pertinent part of Article 4413(29bb), reads 

as'follows: 

"SUBCHAPTER C. LICENSES. 

"License required and false representation prohibited 

"Sec. 13. (a) It shall be unlawful and 

punishable as provided in Section 45 of this 

Act for any person to engage in the business 

of, or perform any service as, a private detective, private investigator or private patrol 

operator or to offer his services in such 

capacities unless he is licensed under the 

provisions of this Act. 

"(b). It is unlawful and punishable as 

provided in Section 45 of this Act for any 

person to represent falsely that he is 

employed by a licensee. u 

"Exceptions 

"Sec. 14. (a) This Act does not apply to 

" (1) 

"(2) &'o;ficer or employee of the United 

States of America, or of this state or a political 

subdivision of either, while the employee or 

officer',is engaged inOAe perfarnlance"of.offr~~al'. 

duties; 

I, 

"(*i * o alarm agencies approved by the State 

Board of Insurance. 

" '. . ." 

In ,answer to your first question, Section 14(a) (2) provides quite unambiguously and clearly that the Act does not 

apply to an officer or employee of the United States of 

America or of this state or a political subdivision of either, 

II . . . while the employee or officer is en a ed in the performance of official duties, . . ." (Emphasis Ad). a Obviously, therefore, an off-duty policeman of this. state or political 

subdivision engaged in a private enterprise of his own is not 

excee from the provisions of this act and thus must set= 

'aTicense when not engaged in the performance of his official 

duties as an employee of one of the employers named in Section 

-3172- 
Mr. J. Mason Lankford, Jr., Page 3, (M-664 ) 

14(a) (21, supra. Section 13(a), quoted above, is to the same 

effect. 

In answer to your second question, our opinion is that 

the activities you set out, when performed by personnel of an 

alarm agency approved by te State Board of Insurance, comport 

with the normal and customary activities of alarm agencies, 

and therefore in the performance of these activities such 

employees are excepted by Section 14(a) (8) from the license 

provisions of Article 4413(29bb). 

SUMMARY 

Without securing a license an off-duty 

policeman of a municipal police department 

or other political subdivision of this state' 

may not conduct a private enterprise, employing other off-duty policemen or officers, to 

perform guard duty or patrol. Article 4413 

(29bb), Section 13(a) and 14(a) (2). 

An alarm agency, approved by the State 

Board.of Insurance may'performcertain~ activities herein named at the premises from 

which an alarm may be received without its 

personnel having obtained a license under 

‘- the provisions of Article 4413 

3 

9bb). 

Atto Y ey General of Texas 

Prepared by Bennie W. Bock, II 

Assistant Attorney General 

APPROVED: 

OPINION COMMITTEE 

Kerns Taylor, Chairman 

W. E. Allen, Co-Chairman 

-.3173- 
Mr. J. Mason Lankford, Jr., Page 4, (M- 664 1 

Ben Harrison 

Terry Goodman 

Mitchell Williams 

Sam Jones, 

MSADE F. GRIFFIN 

Staff Legal Assistant 

ALFRED WALKER 

Executive Assistant 

NOLA WHITE 

First Assistant Attorney General