Home Contact IAI Membership Training Certifications Conference Publications History Divisions Links Job Listings
Requirements for the Certification of Crime Scene Investigator/Analyst
  1. REQUIREMENTS FOR IAI CRIME SCENE CERTIFICATION effective March 30, 2007

    1. General Qualifications

      An applicant for certification must be of good moral character, high integrity, and good repute and must possess high ethical professional standing.

    2. 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.

      1. CSI lapel pinLevel 1 – Certified Crime Scene Investigator (CSI)

        1. Must have a minimum of one (1) year in crime scene related activities.

        2. 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.

      2. CSA lapel pinLevel 2 – Certified Crime Scene Analyst (CSA)

        1. Must have a minimum of three (3) years in crime scene related activities.

        2. 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.

      3. SCSA lapel pinLevel 3 – Certified Senior Crime Scene Analyst (SCSA)

        1. Must have a minimum of six (6) years in crime scene related activities.

        2. 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;

          1. Must have authored or coauthored an article on some phase of crime scene investigation published in a professional journal OR;

          2. Made a presentation on some phase of crime scene investigation to a professional organization, OR;

          3. Be an active instructor in some phase of crime scene investigation who is currently teaching at least once a year, OR;

          4. Submit a court transcript from an actual case in which the applicant gave testimony on some phase of crime scene investigation.

    3. 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.

    4. 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

    5. 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)

      1. 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.

      2. These texts supersede any practice or agency directives for certification testing purposes.

      3. Questions and time

        1. CCSI: 175 questions with a time limit of 2 hours

        2. CCSA: 275 questions with a time limit of 3 hours

        3. CSCSA: 400 questions with a time limit of 4 hours

  2. 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.

    1. 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)

    2. 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)

    3. 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

  3. APPLICATION PROCEDURES

    1. Application forms may be obtained from:

      International Association for Identification
      2535 Pilot Knob Road, Suite 117
      Mendota Heights, MN 55120-1120

    2. 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.

    3. 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

    4. Crime Scene Certification shall be issued for a period of five (5) years.

    5. 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.

  4. GENERAL PROVISIONS CONCERNING CERTIFICATION

    1. 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.

    2. Certificates granted and issued may be suspended or revoked by the CSCB for any of the following reasons:

      1. 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.

      2. A misstatement, misrepresentation, concealment, or omission of a material fact or facts in an application or any other communication related to certification.

      3. 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.

      4. Any violation of the IAI Code of Ethics.

    3. 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.

    4. 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.

    5. 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.

    6. 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.

  5. 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.com

    Curtis 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.org

    Dennis G. Honeycutt
    P.O. Box 4238
    Greenville, NC 27836-2238
    WK (252)756-4755
    FAX (252)756-4779
    Email: dhoneycutt@mail.jus.state.nc.us

    John 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.com

    David 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.org

    Gregory A. Parkinson
    7022 Venetian Way
    West Palm Beach, FL 33406-6827
    (561) 227-6380
    E-mail: parky239@aol.com

    Steve 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