During the 2025-2027 legislative session, the North Dakota Legislative Assembly passed Senate Bill 2051, which required the State Auditor to conduct a performance audit of the Private Investigative and Security Board (PISB). The reason for the audit was because lawmakers wanted an independent review of how PISB was operating. The audit identified five opportunities for improvement. They were:
Lack of Policies and Procedures
The audit found that there are no documented policies or procedures. Because of this, there can be inconsistent practices, loss of institutional knowledge, high risk of errors or fraud, inefficient operations, compliance issues, and weak accountability.
Licensing Process Inefficiencies
One of the duties of PISB is to issue licenses for private investigators and security guards. The database that they use is not being maintained, which means there is no accurate list of licensees or registrants. Additionally, applications and renewals in varying stages of processing are kept in various filing cabinets, banker boxes, and storage crates.
Issuing Pocket Cards
For individuals providing private investigative or security services, they should have a pocket card which is issued by PISB. The current process in place for creating these cards is completely manual which leaves potential for not only error, but also creates time inefficiencies, with over 425 hours annually going to creating these cards manually.
Impractical Renewal Period
State law requires individuals who provide private investigative and security services to operate with a license. The license must be issued by PISB. Applications are backlogged, and there currently is not enough time in the renewal period to allow time for processing.
Not Utilizing Attorney General Legal Services
Because it’s a state entity, PISB could be using the Attorney General’s Office for any legal services. This would save taxpayers approximately $114 per hour by using a state attorney rather than a private attorney for legal matters.
The audit report period was from January 1, 2019, to June 30, 2025. To download the full audit report, visit: https://portalapps.nd.gov/_entity/annotation/ADBA36B1-96DE-FF98-A8A9-B7169BF3462B/.