(a) An application for a license required by Section 860.02 shall be made to the Chief of Police by every person desiring to perform the duties of a special policeman or private detective or to operate a special police agency or private detective agency, either as an employee or an owner or operator. The Chief of Police shall accept applications for and approve the issuance of licenses to such number of applicants as in his or her discretion seems necessary.
Such applicants shall possess the following qualifications:
(1) He or she shall be an American citizen, twenty-one or more years of age, who has continuously resided in Montgomery County for more than one year last past and is of good moral character.
(2) He or she shall not have been convicted of any felony or of any other offense within ten years, except minor traffic violations, and shall not have been adjudged a juvenile delinquent or insane or dismissed for cause by any law enforcement agency within the past ten years.
(3) If he or she is the operator of a special police agency or private detective agency, he or she shall have had a minimum of two and one-half years experience as a special policeman or private detective or other equivalent experience, as determined by the Chief of Police, to qualify for a license to operate such business.
(b) An applicant shall present himself or herself to the Chief of Police for examination as to his or her qualifications and shall well and truthfully answer all questions contained in the application, including his or her name and address and, in the case of a firm or corporation, the name and address of the president and secretary thereof and, in the case of a partnership, the name and address of all the members thereof, together with the trade name under which they intend to operate. Applicants shall be fingerprinted and photographed at the Identification Section of the Police Division. The examination fee shall be twenty-five dollars ($25.00) and no part of such fee shall be refunded because of the failure of the applicant to qualify for a license.
(c) All fees shall be paid to the Finance Director and such fees shall be credited to the General Fund. However, no fee shall be charged when the application for the appointment is made by the director of any department of the City for service to be rendered the City.