- REQUIREMENTS FOR IAI CRIME SCENE CERTIFICATION
effective March 30, 2007
- General Qualifications
An applicant for certification must be of good moral character, high integrity, and good repute and must possess high ethical professional standing.
- Tri-Level Certification
Applicants may apply for certification at any level if the applicant meets the requirements as listed below. It should be noted that for initial certification, hours will be used to calculate the figures, and credits used to calculate the recertification figures.
Level 1 – Certified Crime Scene Investigator (CSI)
- Must have a minimum of one (1) year in crime scene related activities.
- Must have completed a minimum of 48 hours of Crime Scene Certification Board approved instruction in crime scene related courses within the last five (5) years.
Level 2 – Certified Crime Scene Analyst (CSA)
- Must have a minimum of three (3) years in crime scene related activities.
- Must have completed a minimum of 96 hours of Crime Scene Certification Board approved instruction in crime scene related courses within the last five (5) years.
Level 3 – Certified Senior Crime Scene Analyst (SCSA)
- Must have a minimum of six (6) years in crime scene related activities.
- Must have completed a minimum of 144 hours of Crime
Scene Certification Board approved instruction in crime
scene related courses within the last five (5) years.
AND one of the following;
- Must have authored or coauthored an article on some phase of crime scene investigation published in a professional journal OR;
- Made a presentation on some phase of crime scene investigation to a professional organization, OR;
- Be an active instructor in some phase of crime scene investigation who is currently teaching at least once a year, OR;
- Submit a court transcript from an actual case in which the applicant gave testimony on some phase of crime scene investigation.
- Initial In-house Training:
Upon approval by the Crime Scene Certification Board, an agency's structured training program hours may be reciprocated for portions of or for the amount of required hours of instruction for the applied Level.
- Continuing Education/Professional Development Hours:
The topics that qualify in the area of crime scene approved training are as listed below. The Crime Scene Certification Board, on request, will consider other topics:
Alternate Light Source Training
Arson Investigations
Blood Pattern Analysis
Clandestine Lab Training
Collection & Preservation of Evidence
Courtroom Testimony
Crime Scene Documentation
Crime Scene Investigations
Crime Scene Photography
Crime Scene Reconstruction
Death Investigations
Evidence Photography
Footwear and Tire Tread
Forensic Anthropology
Forensic Archeology
Forensic Odontology
Latent Print Detection/Comparison
Post Blast Investigations
Report Writing
Rules of Evidence
Sex Crime Investigations
Traffic Accident Investigations
Underwater/Subsurface search and recovery - Testing
In addition to the listed requirements for each level the applicant must successfully pass a written test with a minimum score of 75%. All written tests are graded and recorded on a pass/fail basis only. (Numerical scores are not provided)
- The tests will be taken from publications selected by the Crime Scene Certification Board. The titles will be published and the Board may not change them for a minimum of three (3) years.
- These texts supersede any practice or agency directives for certification testing purposes.
- Questions and time
- CCSI: 175 questions with a time limit of 2 hours
- CCSA: 275 questions with a time limit of 3 hours
- CSCSA: 400 questions with a time limit of 4 hours
- General Qualifications
- TEST MATERIAL PUBLICATIONS (Effective 2005 – August 2008)
Note: The 5th Edition Police Photography text referenced below is now the required text for certification testing. Effective October 1, 2007 the 4th edition of Police Photography will no longer be accepted nor will certification tests be provided for the 4th edition of Police Photography.
- Crime Scene Investigator
First Unit Responder, A Guide to Physical Evidence Collection for Patrol Officers, Mark Hawthorne © 1998
(Available at Amazon.com, Buy.com, Ecampus.com, Lightning Powder Company, WalMart.com)Police Photography (5th Ed) Chapters 1 through 6 and 11 through 18 to include the Glossary, Larry S. Miller © 2006
(Available at LexisNexis Bookstore, Amazon.com, Lightning Powder Company)Safety for the Forensic Identification Specialist (2nd Ed) Nancy E. Masters © 2002, Chapters 01, 02, 03, 08, 10, 13, 14, 17, 22, Appendix A and E only
(Available at Safety and Security Supply, Lightning Powder Company) - Crime Scene Analyst (CSA)
Criminalistics, An Introduction to Forensic Science (8th Ed), Richard Saferstein © 2003.
(Available at BestBookBuys.com, Buy.com, Pearson Prentice Hall, TextBookX.com, WalMart.com)First Unit Responder, A Guide to Physical Evidence Collection for Patrol Officers, Mark Hawthorne © 1998
(Available at Amazon.com, Buy.com, Ecampus.com, Lightning Powder Company, WalMart.com)Police Photography (5th Ed) Chapters 1 through 6 and 11 through 18 to include the Glossary, Larry S. Miller © 2006
(Available at LexisNexis Bookstore, Amazon.com, Lightning Powder Company)Safety for the Forensic Identification Specialist (2nd Ed) Nancy E. Masters © 2002, Chapters 01, 02, 03, 05, 07, 08, 10, 13, 14,15,17,18, 19, 21, 22, 23, Appendix A, E, and F.
(Available at Safety and Security Supply, Lightning Powder Company)The Science of Fingerprints, U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, 1984
(Available at U.S. Government Bookstore) - Senior Crime Scene Analyst (SCSA)
Criminalistics, An Introduction to Forensic Science (8th Ed), Richard Saferstein © 2003.
(Available at BestBookBuys.com, Buy.com, Pearson Prentice Hall, TextBookX.com, WalMart.com)First Unit Responder, A Guide to Physical Evidence Collection for Patrol Officers, Mark Hawthorne © 1998
(Available at Amazon.com, Buy.com, Ecampus.com, Lightning Powder Company, WalMart.com)Police Photography (5th Ed) Chapters 1 through 6 and 11 through 18 to include the Glossary, Larry S. Miller © 2006
(Available at LexisNexis Bookstore, Amazon.com, Lightning Powder Company)Safety for the Forensic Identification Specialist (2nd Ed) Nancy E. Masters © 2002
(Available at Safety and Security Supply, Lightning Powder Company)The Science of Fingerprints, U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, 1984
(Available at U.S. Government Printing Office)Advances in Fingerprint Technology (2nd Ed), Henry C. Lee and R. E. Gaensslen, 2001.
(Available at Lightning Powder Company, WalMart.com)Death Investigators Handbook (Exp & Updtd Ed), Louis N. Eliopulos, 2003
(Available at Amazon.com, South Summit Company, Legal Libraries, Paladin Press
- Crime Scene Investigator
- APPLICATION PROCEDURES
- Application forms may be obtained from:
International Association for Identification
2535 Pilot Knob Road, Suite 117
Mendota Heights, MN 55120-1120 - All applicants for certification must submit two (2) letters of endorsement. If the applicant is employed by a public law enforcement agency, one letter shall be from a superior within the applicant’s department or agency and one shall be from an associate in the field of crime scene investigations and who is a member of either a state or regional division and/or the parent body.
- The completed application, with supporting documentation to
include two (2) recent photographs, one additional copy of all
submitted paperwork application, and the application fee of $150.00
(Not Refundable) shall be forwarded to the:
International Association for Identification
Crime Scene Certification Board
2535 Pilot Knob Road, Suite 117
Mendota Heights, MN 55120-1120 - Crime Scene Certification shall be issued for a period of five (5) years.
- Applicant procedures for certification are subject to revision by the Crime Scene Certification Board (CSCB). The latest official version is always available from the CSCB Secretary.
- Application forms may be obtained from:
- GENERAL PROVISIONS CONCERNING CERTIFICATION
- The right to deny certification is reserved.
Applicants who are denied certification by the CSCB may appeal such action in writing within sixty (60) days after the issue date of such notification.
- Certificates granted and issued may be suspended or revoked
by the CSCB for any of the following reasons:
- A conviction of an applicant for certification, or holder of a certificate, by a court of competent jurisdiction of a felony or any crime involving moral turpitude.
- A misstatement, misrepresentation, concealment, or omission of a material fact or facts in an application or any other communication related to certification.
- Issuance of a certificate contrary to or in violation of any of the laws, standards, rules or regulations of the IAI, or determination that the person certified was not in fact eligible to receive such certificate at the time of issuance.
- Any violation of the IAI Code of Ethics.
- Action to suspend or revoke may only be taken after at least thirty (30) days advance notice of the charges or reasons for such action has been given to the individual concerned and an opportunity for such person to be heard has been provided by the CSCB.
- Persons holding a valid certificate of qualifications issued by the CSCB are entitled to use the appropriate designations in conformance with the standards of the International Association for Identification.
- Certificates issued by the International Association for Identification are non-transferable. They remain the property of the IAI, but every person to whom a certificate has been issued shall be entitled to its continued possession, unless and until such certificate is revoked.
- Membership in the IAI or any of its state or regional divisions is not mandatory for certification, however, the candidate for certification must agree to abide by the provisions of the certification program as written and passed by the IAI.
- The right to deny certification is reserved.
- CRIME SCENE CERTIFICATION BOARD
Domingo Villarreal, Chairman
Humble Police Dept
310 Bender Ave
Humble, TX 77338-4326
Work Phone: (281) 319-9797
Fax: (281) 446-3960
E-Mail: dvillarreal@humblepolice.comCurtis M. Shane, Secretary
DHS-FLETC-FITD
1131 Chapel Crossing Road
Glynco, Georgia 31524
Phone: (912) 267-2355
Fax: (912) 267-3464
E-Mail: CrimeSceneCertification@theiai.orgDennis G. Honeycutt
P.O. Box 4238
Greenville, NC 27836-2238
WK (252)756-4755
FAX (252)756-4779
Email: dhoneycutt@mail.jus.state.nc.usJohn P. Black
Ron Smith & Associates, Inc.
P.O. Box 670
Collinsville, MS 39325
Work Phone: (601) 626-1100
Fax: (601) 626-1122
E-Mail: johnb@ronsmithandassociates.comDavid De Haan
Lakewood Police Dept
445 S Allison Parkway
Lakewood, CO 80226
Work Phone: (303) 987-7319
Fax: (616) 336-2123
E-Mail: davdeh@lakewoodco.orgGregory A. Parkinson
7022 Venetian Way
West Palm Beach, FL 33406-6827
(561) 227-6380
E-mail: parky239@aol.comSteve Nash
Marin County Sheriff's Dept
3501 Civic Center Dr
San Rafael, CA 94903-4163
Work Phone: (415) 499-7277
Fax: (415) 499-6071
E-Mail: SNash@co.marin.ca.us
