Advisory Opinion No. 95-5

Re: Prescott E. Froberg

Pursuant to a letter dated March 1, 1994 received in the Office of the Ethics Commission on March 9, 1994 from Janice C. Rutan:

  1. Each year in March, the Jamestown Town Council renews licenses for private investigators as guided by Rhode Island General Laws.
  2. Applicants for licenses for private investigators include police officers employed by the Town of Jamestown.
  3. Questions have been raised regarding possible conflicts of interest as follows:

a. officers may have access to computer files which would not be accessible to other private investigators who are not actively employed by the municipal police department;

b. officers may be privy to potential clients due to the position of the police officer;

c. officers have access to reports and filings not classified as public information.

The Town Council for the Town of Jamestown should not issue licenses for private investigator work to police officers employed by the Town. Because the police officers have access to confidential information developed on behalf of the public in pursuit of protecting the public interest, this information should be protected from those who would develop it or use it with an eye toward private or pecuniary gain. On this basis, the Commission finds that issuance by the Jamestown Town Council of licenses as private investigators to police officers employed by the Town would violate Code of Ethics §§36-14-5(a), (b), (c) and (d).

Keywords

Private Employment

Confidential Information