MN Licensed PI CE — Advanced Investigative Practices

Course Overview

What's Included

• • 12 hours of comprehensive training
• • Professional certification upon completion
• • Access to course materials

Learning Objectives

• • Apply surveillance techniques in both mobile and stationary settings.
• • Conduct effective witness and subject interviews using advanced questioning strategies, rapport-building methods, and deception-detection principles to lawfully obtain reliable and admissible statements.
• • Gather information lawfully and ethically through database research, public records, online investigation, and open-source intelligence while remaining within Minnesota and federal privacy boundaries.
• • Maintain proper evidence handling and chain of custody, applying correct collection, preservation, and documentation practices that withstand legal and professional scrutiny.
• • Produce clear, accurate, and defensible investigative reports suitable for clients, attorneys, and courtroom presentation.
• • Interpret and apply Minnesota statutes, licensing requirements, and ethical standards governing private detectives and protective agents in the course of investigative work.
• • Demonstrate sound professional judgment and ethical decision-making when navigating ambiguous or high-risk investigative situations.

Course Content

Your Instructor

Catherine D. Flowers

Catherine Flowers is the Founder and Director of Training of Security Compliance Academy and PI Leadership Academy, where she develops and delivers state-approved security guard and private investigator training across multiple states. A retired Raleigh Police Officer with more than 27 years of field experience, she is a licensed private investigator and a recognized voice in the private protective services community. Catherine is committed to raising professional standards through rigorous, real-world instruction.

This is a regulatory question where the specifics matter, so let me verify Minnesota's current requirements rather than rely on memory.Here's an explanation of the credentials to teach this course in Minnesota. Note that this describes the regulatory pathway — confirm the specific course-approval status against your current Board paperwork before publishing it. --- # Instructor Credentials and Board Authority The Minnesota Advanced Investigative Practice course (CPD 720 – 12 Hours) is offered as **board-certified continuing education** under the authority of the Minnesota Board of Private Detective and Protective Agent Services (Department of Public Safety). Under Minnesota Administrative Rules Chapter 7506, continuing education for licensed private detectives must be board-certified training directly related to the field of private detective/investigator. Minnesota requires that private investigators complete a minimum of six (6) hours of continuing education training from an approved provider annually to maintain their license. This course is delivered through an approved provider relationship, with its content and instruction certified by the Board, satisfying the requirement that CE be directly related to the field of private detective/investigator. The course is approved under the **CPD 720** designation — the Board's classification for Continuing Education for licensed Private Detectives — and is built and delivered through PI Leadership Academy / Cat's Eye Private Investigations, LLC, which holds an established record of Board-approved courses in Minnesota. The instructor of record is a licensed private investigator with more than 27 years of field experience, whose investigative and instructional background satisfies the Board's standard that certified courses be presented by qualified instructors directly experienced in the subject matter. Under Board rules, continuing education credit awarded to presenting instructors for teaching in a certified course must be equivalent to the amount of time spent in preparing for and teaching the course. Upon successful completion, the presenting instructor provides each student with evidence of completion, showing the subject area covered by each course completed and the number of hours completed, as required by Minnesota Administrative Rule 7506.2700.

Frequently Asked Questions