Associates in Forensic Investigations, LLC
Visit us:
  • Home
  • Dismissed Homicide
  • Life Insurance Win
  • Ethics
  • Standards
  • AFI-LLC Blog
  • AFI-LLC Newsletters

Protecting Our Profession and Clients in Colorado’s Unlicensed Environment

9/6/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture
Protecting Our Profession and Clients in Colorado’s Unlicensed Environment

Colorado’s Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA) is still taking PI license money for a non-existent program – a program they pushed to repeal, directly lobbied the governor to veto – which he did.

Due to the 07/11/2020 veto of Colorado’s governor of the bill to continue the private investigator licensing program, and consumer protections, we are back to an unlicensed environment. The only purpose of licensing in Colorado – of all programs – is consumer protection. Having been in the unlicensed environment since before staring our agency in 1987, we will adapt. Of importance is adapting for our clients. Based on the experience of the licensing programs in Colorado since 2012, we are adapting a commonsense approach to continuing with these standards of practice and protocols in our policies and procedures, as well as ethics. There is nothing new to our approach – are simply continuing on what we have done, or expanded with, for over 30 years. We suggest your agency make similar adaptations, and we also suggest our clients – and yours – look for these in their investigators.
 
No licensing in Colorado – now what?
The issuance of a license does not provide any assurance to a client of the experience and services of the investigator. The basics have always been simple – 1) Licensed in the state or jurisdiction in which you are operating (if applicable); 2) Have a permitted or otherwise lawful purpose; 3) Your activity must be lawful; and 4) Your activity must be ethical.
 
All investigators should have a CV or background information for clients. We also recommend obtaining a license in a contiguous jurisdiction – UT, AZ, NM, KS or Cheyenne WY to demonstrate a clear FBI fingerprint background. There are other benefits, most specific to those jurisdictions; however, the first purpose is to show no prohibitive criminal background.
 
In addition, we recommend having both a surety bond – to protect the client, and liability insurance coverage – to protect yourself. This provides additional assurance to the client. Additional insurances may be necessary – such as if you carry a firearm and/or provided any protective and security services, workers’ compensation coverage, commercial vehicle, and other protections.
 
We further recommend, for both client and agency protection, your agency should have published ethics, policies and procedures, and have the following minimum standards made available to clients:
- Confidentiality in work-product and communications, and other standards of practice.
- Contract with disclosure of services, fee, and verbal or written report upon completion.
- Avoid any conflicts of interest.
- Detailed and secure recordkeeping.
- Truthfulness in advertising education, training, experience, and services.
 
What can a PI, not working for an attorney, do an attorney’s agent cannot?
This is an important question, and concern, in an unlicensed environment. When an investigator is retained by an attorney, they become the attorney’s agent and must comply with all rules and doctrines (i.e. work-product confidentiality and confidential communications), as well as state and American Bar Association ethics. Failing to do so may have serious case consequences, and in an unlicensed environment place the responsibility and any consequences on the attorney. However, every investigator has a duty to treat every case with the parameters as working with an attorney.
 
There are several areas in which investigators not working for an attorney, and instead for a private individual or business, are not legally restrained – and may be very problematic for attorneys representing an opposing party. Our agency is aware of these and has long regularly advised clients on what to look for to challenge the activities of an opposing party’s investigator. These include:
- There is (generally) no legal or ethical restriction in exploiting social media – such as having a social media friend contact to obtain otherwise private posts and information (this is unethical for attorneys and their agents).
- If a drone is used – was the pilot licensed by the FAA and received any necessary authorizations?
- Did the investigator contact a represented party (this is unethical for attorneys and their agents)?
- Did the investigator record any conversations without disclosure (this is unethical for attorneys and their agents)?
- Was the investigator previously licensed in Colorado?
- Did the investigator have any complaints or disciplinary actions while previously licensed in Colorado?
 
These activities may be potentially damaging if there are any questionable tactics used. However, there is no longer any reporting or disciplinary action to Colorado’s Department of Regulatory Agencies. These may have legal recourses – most often law enforcement will deem them ‘civil’, and taking legal action may not be available in a time-sensitive case the attorney is litigating for their client. There are alternatives, which we are glad to discuss with you. We can also assist with conducting a detailed background of the investigator.
 
Why is this very bad?
Except in equivocal death consultations for families, our agency strictly works only with attorneys in representation of their clients. We receive numerous inquiries from private individuals requesting our services, sometimes at the suggestion of their attorneys; however, we require an attorney-investigator relationship, agreement, and payments. This is primarily to protect attorney work-product, and also client confidentiality. Overall, it is to protect the attorney and the client.
 
If the investigator is retained by attorney, and acting as their agent, any disciplinary complaints and actions fall directly to the attorney – no longer is the investigator responsible with no licensing program, oversight, and consumer protection in Colorado. The purpose of this article is to make attorneys, clients, and investigators aware of assuring legal and ethical practices.
 
The bottom line – case integrity and outcome, and reputation of the attorney and investigator are dependent on the actions of the investigator. This has always been true – consumers are more vulnerable now.
 
How can our agency help and what do we recommend?
We strongly recommend every investigator be prepared to answer these questions of themselves, every attorney and consumer ask these questions of their consumer, and have these independently verified. Our agency can help with these:
- Is the investigator’s claim of being previously licensed in Colorado true? Were there any complaints?
- Are the investigator’s certifications valid? Are the certifications current and professionally recognized? What do they mean?
- Is the investigator licensed in another jurisdiction? Is the license current? Are there any complaints?
- Is the investigator individually and/or agency bonded and/or insured?
- Is the investigator a member of a recognized association? What are the vetting criteria?
 
How can having this information help? Every attorney can be more prepared in responses to complaints, interrogatories, motions, etc., and be more prepared for the investigator’s testimony (depositions, hearings, trial). What vulnerabilities are there to the investigator’s report and activities reported? Any activity which is illegal, unethical, or outside of professional standards of practice should be challenged.
 
Our agency has been involved in licensing efforts and legislative consumer protection for over a decade. We were licensed from the beginning in 2012 (voluntary) and again in 2015 (mandatory), and also in Cheyenne WY, where we remain licensed. We have also been continuously bonded and insured. We have developed agency ethics and standards of practice to assure our clients have the confidence and trust they expect. We have also authored and taught ethics and standards, including assisted DORA as a stakeholder in their ethics and standards development for the licensing programs (including on the PPIAC Legislative Committee as stakeholders), and are members and serve on committees and/or boards of recognized state, national, and international associations.
0 Comments

Commitment to Client and Consumer Confidence

8/2/2020

0 Comments

 
Clients and Consumers BEWARE!
Colorado now one of only 5 states that DO NOT require a PI to be licensed!
On Saturday 07/11/2020, without informing any stakeholders or bill sponsors, the governor vetoed HB20-1207. This effectively ends PI licensing in Colorado as of 08/31/2020. More importantly - it ends important and effective consumer protections for Coloradoans.
"Governor Polis with the swipe of a pen repealed licensing in Colorado Saturday, July 11, 2020. Background checks, surety bonds and demonstrating a knowledge of the laws are no longer in place to protect the public, consumer and subjects of investigations. To make sure your investigator has been properly vetted it is more important than ever to choose an investigator that is a member of a state or national association."
- PPIAC https://ppiac.org/colorado-private-investigator-news/9096684
Learn about recommended associations at www.DeathCaseReview.com/associations
Picture
Why Was HB20-1207 - Continuing the Private Investigator Licensure Act - Vetoed?
Please visit www.DeathCaseReview.com/hb20-1207 for these important and complete details. We have also included a link to a training video, intended for Colorado licensure, which details the losses to the public. We recommend all Colorado Professional Investigators - new and veteran - follow the guidance in this video for the standards of practice and ethics.

First, we Thank YOU - our clients and colleagues - for the overwhelming support from when we started working with DORA (so we thought) in the sunset review process about this time last year, and right up until it was vetoed. Many sent letters to DORA, the legislature, and the governor's office. We appreciate the time you took to support our profession and consumer protections in Colorado!

Most important, we want to assure our clients this will have no change or impact to our client-investigator relationships, how we conduct business and investigations, or our agency standards of practices and ethics. Prior to licensing in Colorado (2012 and mandatory from 2015 to present), we developed standards of practices and ethics and shared these with Colorado’s Department of Regulatory Agencies for the licensing program (together with extensive input from the Legislative Committee of the Professional Private Investigators Association of Colorado – PPIAC). We further adapted additional requirements from DORAs Rules and Regulations. These will continue to be in place for our clients and consumers. As part of our standards of practices and ethics, these include:
  • Contracts
  • Conflicts of interest
  • Confidentiality
  • Recordkeeping
  • Truthful representation
  • Business standards and compliance with laws
  • Ethics
Unfortunately, any grounds for license denial, review, or discipline for bad acts disappears after 08/31/2020. What were some of these? If any Colorado Private Investigator (licensed or not):
  • Violated or attempted to violate any licensing provision or rule;
  • Committed fraud, deceit, or misrepresented securing a license;
  • Committed any felony or aggravated misdemeanor offense, was convicted or a guilty plea or nolo contendere;
  • Was disciplined by another jurisdiction (includes other states denied licensure); or
  • Any act or omission which violates generally accepted standards and ethics.
Picture

Click Here for our Press Release of 07/14/2020
Colorado Governor Vetoes Consumer Protections
You have Our Commitment to Client and Consumer Confidence!
As part of this process for consumer protections in Colorado, and as part of the PPIAC Legislative Committee for over a decade, we are proud of the accomplishments and honored to have been a strong and positive influence in our profession, for our clients, and for consumers. We are disappointed in the veto and the consequences. We remain committed and steadfast in the highest standards to our clients, consumers, and our profession.

Let us analyze this, briefly, below. These losses to the public are detailed in a training video intended for Colorado licensure. We recommend all Colorado PIs - new and veteran - follow the guidance in this video for the standards of practice and ethics developed by DORA for the now ended licensing program. If you need a copy, please visit the DORA website or contact our agency. In addition, we recommend a comprehensive ethics as part of your practices. Our ethics are at www.DeathCaseReview.com/ethics

This is training video available FREE in August only!
http://co-pi-licensing.InvestigativeCourses.com.
1. "Rarely protect the public from harm" - because it worked bringing in 1,000 licensed PIs who followed codified standards of practice and ethics.
2. "Served incumbent license-holders as a barrier to entry for new competition including many retired officers of the peace." - this is a tired argument that retired or former law enforcement can't afford the license and bond fees (under $250 annually). Moreover, this does not benefit PIs - it benefits and protects the public... no one else.
3. "Licensure does not require any continuing education or real test of competency, instead requiring passage of an “open-book” jurisprudence exam." - attempts at continuing education were rejected every session and committee in the original licensure bill of 2014 and was not requested in this bill... in part, also because the governor said he would veto a requirement of continuing education. Finally,
4. "This regulation does place an undue burden on new entrants into the occupation and causes needless bureaucracy as well as the cost to the State and Coloradans." - the video, and information below - and much more provided to DORA and the governor - demonstrate there is essentially no burden to entry, the program was designed, under existing state law, to do so. Moreover, the statement of cost to Coloradoans is not founded in fact; all DORA regulated programs are fully funded by the licensees and cannot use any taxpayer funds.
5. "We are open to working with the General Assembly ... next session on legislation ... to pass a criminal background check and potentially retain some level of insurance or bond. These statutory requirements would not require full licensure to implement." - First, "We" are not open to registration for the simple reason it provides no consumer protection. Most important - this proposal has only two stated requirements, which existed in the current licensing program - pass a background check, and a bond. No test of jurisprudence knowledge (regardless of open book or not), no professional standards, no professional ethics, no consumer protection or recourse if harmed, and no discipline to any PIs and bad acts through regulatory oversight. No continuing education he said should exist. This was a personal political agenda veto. Not in the interest of Coloradoans.

When would this new 'registration' take place (if at all - highly doubtful)?
At the earliest, if passed in the 2021 session would be June of 2022... 22 months of no consumer protection - with a collective 75% supporting bi-partisan votes in the House and Senate committees and floor to protect Colorado's consumers.
This veto does not harm PIs. This veto harms Coloradoans - clients and consumers.
0 Comments

Believe the Totality of the Evidence

7/5/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture
Believe the Totality of the Evidence
 
The process of investigation is vital to the rights of the individuals - both defendants and victims; in civil and criminal cases - and our justice system. In the investigations of death, it can have additional impacts – from civil and criminal, to insurance benefits and closure to families.
 
The evidence is not wrong. The interpretation, application of circumstances, and looking at evidence only individually instead of the totality of the evidence and circumstances can be wrong.
 
If the findings are wrong...
- someone may be wrongfully convicted; or
- someone may get away with a crime; or
- family may lose benefits; or
- family may be misinformed, lingering questions, and no closure.
 
It is not a matter of erring on the side of caution, it is a matter of the evidence and the story it tells and supports.
 
At times, answering the question of what scenario happened is unanswered. However, answering the question of what did or did not happen - was it homicide, suicide... or accident - is answered. In doing so, the answer of criminal charges, insurance benefits, or other outcome is.
 
“Not engage in incompetent practice or outside acceptable practices and standards of the industry.” - Private Investigator Licensing, Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA) Standards of Practice.
 
We receive multiple inquiries on questioned deaths – from PIs, attorneys, and families. We welcome these, it is our passion to help families. Unfortunately with most, the PI has done a 'full work-up' of the case and an attorney is ready to file a wrongful death action based on the family's belief of homicide and then wants us to prove it. That's putting the cart before the horse.
 
First it needs to be determined what did and did not happen - was it suicide, accident, or homicide - we have found all of these in our questioned deaths. Most often there is some information and evidence – when looked at individually – which supports the questions and concerns of the family. If this is looked at with the untrained and inexperienced eyes, it may be an incorrect conclusion. We have found the same with law enforcement and coroner investigations – less frequently in comparison to families and inexperienced PIs. Once a family’s questions are said to be factual there is no changing course to them. We have been there and it is very damaging to them. For example, telling a family or client – at any time – “this is clearly a murder and we will prove it for you” does happen too often and should never be done. Instead, we tell the family, “We understand the concerns you have, but cannot offer anything further until we look at all of the records, reports, and photographs available to us. Even then, if they are incomplete our findings may also be. We will do the best we can to answer your questions honestly based on the facts and evidence. Please understand there are four possible findings, and we cannot know until your review concluded:
1) The official investigation was competent, with the official findings consistent with the facts and evidence; or
2) The official investigation was not competent, with the official findings consistent with the facts and evidence; or
3) The official investigation was competent, with the official findings not consistent with the facts and evidence; or
4) The official investigation was not competent, with the official findings not consistent with the facts and evidence.”
 
When retained by a PI or attorney, we tell them the same. These are in the order most often seen. The client comes to us – and you – because they are looking at #4. This is most often not our findings.
 
Why does this happen? Most often the family and PI are focused on the circumstantial drama – family relationships, personalities, unusual behavior, anger and grief. For example, we often hear of abuse and neglect or even affairs and acting strange. These may be valid concerns. Imagine if a person were arrested, charged, tried and convicted based on these circumstances? It has happened – a bit simplified, but it has and does. The damage and harm is to more than the defendant. Our only purposes is to review and analyze the facts and evidence independently and with no bias or desired outcome.
 
Then we can make recommendations to the family, PI and attorney as to the next stage of the investigation - the boots on the ground field work. It can be a big hardship on the family to have them convinced of homicide and the evidence doesn't support it - and they will live with the unanswered grief the rest of their lives. This hardship is financial and emotional. We have had families, attorneys, and PIs come to us with how much they have spent and are now ready for our expertise. This is often $2,000 to $10,000 (more than our base fee to families), only for us to tell them their findings or legal strategy are without fact and evidentiary basis. This has happened to such a degree, we now have law enforcement and prosecutor offices coming to us to independently review their cases as expert consults and to tell them which of the four possibilities their cases fall.
 
We strive to do the best we can for our clients, colleagues and profession. We are passionate about helping families. Our first recommendation for any investigation is to follow a simple process – from intake to investigation to conclusion:
- Prepare
- Inquire
- Analyze
- Document
- Report
(see the PI Magazine article – ‘A Look Into the Practical Methods for Legal Investigations’ at www.DeathCaseReview.com/uploads/8/7/3/8/8738199/beers_-_pmli_pi_mag_082014.pdf
 
Doing so provides for the Passionate Search for the Facts, and as legal investigators, this is our only true purpose. This includes extenuating, aggravating, mitigating, objective, and subjective information. Anything that supports or refutes any or all of the components of the death, or serious bodily injury, investigation is evidence. Legal  investigators  have  professional obligations to themselves and all clients to be: 1) Informed, become informed, and to inform; 2) Unbiased and open minded; 3) Conscientious of their fiduciary responsibility; 4) Honest and ethical; and 5) Unrelenting in their search for the facts.
0 Comments

Lessons from Lockdown

6/1/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture
Since mid-March we have all experienced an unprecedented event in our nation’s – our world’s – history: home isolation and closed businesses. The personal affects of emotional, physical, and mental health will begin to manifest themselves, and have been both trying and overwhelming for all. The impacts to our communities have been significant. The impact to our economies – personal, business, local, state and national – devastating.
 
In April and May we provided important resources to adapt, and survive, this event. We revisit and summarize those at the end of this commentary.
 
Like a Phoenix, we can all recover personally and, in our communities, states and nation. A forest fire results in new and stronger growth. In America, it is who we are and it is how our Nation was born. So, what have be begun to learn from this experience?
  - Freedom is important – the freedom to work and play is part of us.
  - Family is important – many of us have spent more time with our families than ever before.
  - We adapt and overcome.
 
These are just a few simple things which come to mind. As a home-based agency, our break is to get out – whether with family, a business trip, errands, or a relaxing night out. As a technology-based business, and with frequent travel, our business adaptations were already in place. All of our business trips were canceled to date, and the rest of the year is unknown. We didn’t give up our family time, and increased it both out of necessity – grandkids were home with no school and when their parents worked or returned; and we increased our parent checks to more frequent phone calls and personal visits. As clients and colleagues, including associations we are active with, transitioned to remote meetings, we found ourselves even more involved. We adapted to overcome any obstacles and forge new opportunities. We did so with family and friends, and also clients and colleagues.
 
Every adaption in business soon adapted to personal use. As kids learned to attend school remotely, and businesses have meetings remotely, so to did families adapt to use virtual meeting applications for personal time. What are some of the ways we adapted, and expanded our abilities?
 
As much as we have adapted, nothing replaces personal connections. These personal connections are with family and friends, and also clients and colleagues. We will continue to forge and grow these personal relationships.
 
During this time we must recognize our state, national, and international associations – most with overlapping membership and leadership – who came together to share and create resources for members and our profession. From tips on transitioning to remote business practices, to financial resources, and extended webinars and training opportunities. We saw the daily work each association did behind the scenes – all volunteer – to keep us all in business. I strongly encourage you to visit www.privateinvestigations.org/associations to learn more about being involved, as each association has found a new mission and value in members; and members have found new value in their associations.
 
We extend our most heartfelt thanks and appreciation to all of our family, friends, clients, and colleagues for checking on each other, working together. Our clients stayed in touch, sometimes just to check-in, and other times for assignments. We all adapted as we continued to provide the services needed and expected.
 
Finally, a special thanks to our families. It is through them we have all found renewed strength in being closer together. This includes right here, for us.
 
Be Safe. Be Healthy. Together We’re Better!
 
Standard Business Continuity and Practices
For over 30 years we have been committed to assuring your firm has the expertise and resources need to best represent your clients. Since 1996 our agency has developed redundant continuity as standard business practice to be more available and responsive to our clients. This has included data resources, communications, power and supplies, and remote capabilities. Our clients and colleagues have had no disruption or delays in the services we provide.
 
Distance Working and Learning Resources
Learn how we efficiently multi-task and maintain our daily activities for clients using these tools. Visit this article on our blog at www.DeathCaseReview.com/afi-llc-blog/time-is-money-multi-tasking-is-time-recovered!
- DropBox - http://DropBox.PrivateInvestigations.org
  or OneDrive - http://OneDrive.PrivateInvestigations.org
- Right Inbox for Gmail - www.RightInBox.com
- Desktop Texting - www.MySMS.com
- Ring Central Faxing - http://Fax.PrivateInvestigations.org
- Ring Central VOIP - http://RingCentral.PrivateInvestigations.org
- Toll-Free Numbers - http://Kall8.PrivateInvestigations.org (PIs - contact our office for more uses)
- ​Split View - www.SplitView.com
 
During the last several weeks we have shared a list of distance learning available (also at www.InvestigativeCourses.com). These continue to be available, and beginning this month we will begin offering on-demand training modules. These will cover topics from our over 30 years of experience, adapted from speaking engagements, books, and articles we have published over the years. These will be for attorneys, investigators, and consultants in basic, intermediate and advanced levels. These will be priced based on length, skill level, and subject matter, and as low as $25. Look for a special announcement soon!
 
We also shared several exceptional distance learning resources, some free:
  • PI Education www.PIeducation.com
A large selection of courses, approved in multiple states, at reasonable cost and convenience.
All courses - Coupon Code: FriendsofDean for 10% off (expires 06-30-2020)
  • Investigator Ethics for the PI, Consumer and Client www.udemy.com/investigator-attorney-ethics-for-the-consumer
Offered by Udemy and presented by AFI-LLC informs the student of ethics which must be followed.
  • Basics of Skip Tracing, Backgrounds & Assets Investigations www.udemy.com/skip-tracing-backgrounds-assets-investigations-101
Offered by Udemy and presented by AFI-LLC introduces fundamentals of individual locates, background, and asset & liabilities investigations.
  • Basic Forensic Scene Photography www.udemy.com/basic-forensic-scene-photography
Offered by Udemy and presented by AFI-LLC covers the equipment and selection, processes and protocols, and legal considerations of investigative photography.
  • Equivocal Death Investigations https://pieducation.com/product/equivocal-death-investigations
Offered by PI Education and presented by AFI-LLC provides a basic introduction into the concepts of the official investigation of death, and adapted to serious bodily injuries.
  • Criminal Defense Investigation Training Council www.defenseinvestigator.com/distancelearning.html
Offering discounted distance learning during this time, and newly developed a virtual training programs.
  • The PI Institute www.PIinstitute.com
A large selection of courses, approved in multiple states, at reasonable cost and convenience.
  • The Hetherington Group (HG) www.hetheringtongroup.com/training/webinars
Updated their OSINT webinar content into packages.
  • S2 Distance Learning Portal http://afi.s2institute.com
Offered by Associates in Forensic Investigations in partnership with the S2 Safety & Intelligence Institute. These courses are specifically developed for distance learning for the professional investigator.
  • NW3C www.nw3c.org/webinars#OnDemand
Primarily for law enforcement and regulatory agencies, these training modules are useful in private investigations.
  • National Institute of Justice On-demand https://nij.ojp.gov/events/on-demand
Includes online, self-paced training, and recordings of past events.
  • National Association for Public Defense www.publicdefenders.us/calendar_list.asp
Weekly training and information webinars primarily for attorneys and investigators working criminal defense cases.
 
Read April’s commentary at www.DeathCaseReview.com/afi-llc-blog/overcoming-covid-19-and-business-continuation
 
Returning to Office and Field Services: Tips for Safer Interactions
Be sure and check with your state and local requirements, and consult legal advice as may be necessary. The following is not legal advice.
 
We suggest having a HIPAA and state health department compliant form for all personal interactions with clients and the public (witnesses, etc.). In addition to compliance, there are two additional considerations: 1) liability insurance may require compliance and additional guidelines; and 2) if there is any exposure this will assist with state and CDC contact tracing programs. Any compliance forms should be signed and dated by all parties. These forms should be copied to the case file, and a compliance folder for the agency.
 
Read last month’s commentary at www.DeathCaseReview.com/afi-llc-blog/returning-to-office-and-field-services-tips-for-safer-interactions
Be Safe. Be Healthy. Together We’re Better!
Standard Business Continuity and Practices
For over 30 years we have been committed to assuring your firm has the expertise and resources need to best represent your clients. Since 1996 our agency has developed redundant continuity as standard business practice to be more available and responsive to our clients. This has included data resources, communications, power and supplies, and remote capabilities. Our clients and colleagues have had no disruption or delays in the services we provide.
 
Distance Working and Learning Resources
Learn how we efficiently multi-task and maintain our daily activities for clients using these tools. Visit this article on our blog at www.DeathCaseReview.com/afi-llc-blog/time-is-money-multi-tasking-is-time-recovered!
- DropBox - http://DropBox.PrivateInvestigations.org
  or OneDrive - http://OneDrive.PrivateInvestigations.org
- Right Inbox for Gmail - www.RightInBox.com
- Desktop Texting - www.MySMS.com
- Ring Central Faxing - http://Fax.PrivateInvestigations.org
- Ring Central VOIP - http://RingCentral.PrivateInvestigations.org
- Toll-Free Numbers - http://Kall8.PrivateInvestigations.org (PIs - contact our office for more uses)
- ​Split View - www.SplitView.com
 
During the last several weeks we have shared a list of distance learning available (also at www.InvestigativeCourses.com). These continue to be available, and beginning this month we will begin offering on-demand training modules. These will cover topics from our over 30 years of experience, adapted from speaking engagements, books, and articles we have published over the years. These will be for attorneys, investigators, and consultants in basic, intermediate and advanced levels. These will be priced based on length, skill level, and subject matter, and as low as $25. Look for a special announcement soon!
 
We also shared several exceptional distance learning resources, some free:
  • PI Education www.PIeducation.com
A large selection of courses, approved in multiple states, at reasonable cost and convenience.
All courses - Coupon Code: FriendsofDean for 10% off (expires 06-30-2020)
  • Investigator Ethics for the PI, Consumer and Client www.udemy.com/investigator-attorney-ethics-for-the-consumer
Offered by Udemy and presented by AFI-LLC informs the student of ethics which must be followed.
  • Basics of Skip Tracing, Backgrounds & Assets Investigations www.udemy.com/skip-tracing-backgrounds-assets-investigations-101
Offered by Udemy and presented by AFI-LLC introduces fundamentals of individual locates, background, and asset & liabilities investigations.
  • Basic Forensic Scene Photography www.udemy.com/basic-forensic-scene-photography
Offered by Udemy and presented by AFI-LLC covers the equipment and selection, processes and protocols, and legal considerations of investigative photography.
  • Equivocal Death Investigations https://pieducation.com/product/equivocal-death-investigations
Offered by PI Education and presented by AFI-LLC provides a basic introduction into the concepts of the official investigation of death, and adapted to serious bodily injuries.
  • Criminal Defense Investigation Training Council www.defenseinvestigator.com/distancelearning.html
Offering discounted distance learning during this time, and newly developed a virtual training programs.
  • The PI Institute www.PIinstitute.com
A large selection of courses, approved in multiple states, at reasonable cost and convenience.
  • The Hetherington Group (HG) www.hetheringtongroup.com/training/webinars
Updated their OSINT webinar content into packages.
  • S2 Distance Learning Portal http://afi.s2institute.com
Offered by Associates in Forensic Investigations in partnership with the S2 Safety & Intelligence Institute. These courses are specifically developed for distance learning for the professional investigator.
  • NW3C www.nw3c.org/webinars#OnDemand
Primarily for law enforcement and regulatory agencies, these training modules are useful in private investigations.
  • National Institute of Justice On-demand https://nij.ojp.gov/events/on-demand
Includes online, self-paced training, and recordings of past events.
  • National Association for Public Defense www.publicdefenders.us/calendar_list.asp
Weekly training and information webinars primarily for attorneys and investigators working criminal defense cases.
 
Read April’s commentary at www.DeathCaseReview.com/afi-llc-blog/overcoming-covid-19-and-business-continuation
 
Returning to Office and Field Services: Tips for Safer Interactions
Be sure and check with your state and local requirements, and consult legal advice as may be necessary. The following is not legal advice.
 
We suggest having a HIPAA and state health department compliant form for all personal interactions with clients and the public (witnesses, etc.). In addition to compliance, there are two additional considerations: 1) liability insurance may require compliance and additional guidelines; and 2) if there is any exposure this will assist with state and CDC contact tracing programs. Any compliance forms should be signed and dated by all parties. These forms should be copied to the case file, and a compliance folder for the agency.
 
Read last month’s commentary at www.DeathCaseReview.com/afi-llc-blog/returning-to-office-and-field-services-tips-for-safer-interactions
0 Comments

Returning to Office and Field Services: Tips for Safer Interactions

5/3/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture
Being active on our state association legislative committee, PPIAC, there have been many discussions about this crisis and impact on members. This comes from also navigating a bill to renew Colorado’s PI licensing program for another five years. Professional investigators have always worked from home, in office spaces, and in the field – our profession is complex and far reaching. We watch for regulations and legislation which may impact our profession – for better, or for worse. This new crisis is a totally different issue, however, dealing with it is the same.
 
In early March, after a state of emergency was declared, Colorado’s legislature adjourned about half-way into the session. With phases of Safe From Home in place, Colorado’s legislature is scheduled to reconvene 05/18/2020 and finish the legislative session. During this crisis the licensing agency, Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA) classified Private Investigators as ‘non-critical’ or ‘non-essential’ and with the most restricted travel and business mandates.

The state health department (CDPHE) had some flexibility. Believing DORA did not have the authority to supersede CDPHE, the PPIAC Legislative Committee (of which Dean is a member) immediately went to work under the leadership of Robert Orozco (Chair) and sent a letter to DORA. As of 04/30/2020 DORA no longer included PIs under any classification of restricted business activities. At the same time, as Colorado transitioned to the Safer at Home phase, members of the committee were discussing steps to make sure members / PIs, clients, and the public we interacted with would have safe practices recommendations. We learned, through our re-classification efforts, CDPHE re-classified PIs with guidelines for Office and Field Services. This is an important win by PPIAC for all Colorado PIs. Our agency has drafted a policy for compliance with new CDPHE guidelines. We hope the following, from the CDPHE required of all Colorado PIs, may assist you. Be sure and check with your state and local requirements, and consult legal advice as may be necessary. The following is not legal advice.
 
We suggest having a HIPAA and state health department compliant form for all personal interactions with clients and the public (witnesses, etc.). In addition to compliance, there are two additional considerations: 1) liability insurance may require compliance and additional guidelines; and 2) if there is any exposure this will assist with state and CDC contact tracing programs. Any compliance forms should be signed and dated by all parties. These forms should be copied to the case file, and a compliance folder for the agency.
 
Effective 04/30/2020
https://covid19.colorado.gov/safer-at-home/safer-at-home-office-based-business
https://covid19.colorado.gov/safer-at-home/safer-at-home-field-services-and-real-estate
 
This policy is effective for all assignments and interactions involving personal contact. This is in compliance with current Colorado Department of Health & Environment (CDPHE), and Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies / Private Investigators (DORA). Local county and city orders may supersede these and will be applicable as noted.
 
For each in-office or field personal contact, the following should be documented by the investigator and other person(s).
- Are you, or have you recently been, symptomatic or in contact with known positive cases?
- Adhere to all general rules or guidance on social gathering limitations when working in the field, or person’s business or home.
- This in-person meeting was of no more than 10 people. (initials of person requesting in-person meeting)
- Maintained a 6-foot distance from between persons.
- Gloves and face coverings or masks were offered for any personal interactions.
- Any provided PPE was properly collected or disposed of.

This should be signed and dated, with location noted, by all persons.
 
 Reminder - Be sure and check with your state and local requirements, and consult legal advice as may be necessary. The following is not legal advice.
0 Comments

Overcoming COVID-19 and Business Continuation

4/5/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture
Overcoming COVID-19 and Business Continuation
First, we hope you and your families, friends, and co-workers are doing well in physical and mental health, as well as financially. This virus event is considered a 'pandemic outbreak' (new strain, and global). These terms sound alarming – and thus begins physical, mental, and emotional distress in many.
 
Distance Learning Resources from AFI-LLC
We links of distance learning available (also at www.InvestigativeCourses.com) - some were published in this issue of the NCISS Your Advocate at www.nciss.org/your-advocate-april-2020 (which also has some helpful information for members on COVID-19 resources. Some may not have time for webinars, and we have articles previously published available to PIs - email us associates@deathcasereview.com for the confidential link.
 
Special Information and Resources for the Corona Virus
We have also published all state of emergency resources we have found at www.PrivateInvestigations.org/corona-virus-resources.
  • What is the COVID-19?
  • Who is at risk?
  • What are the precautions?
  • As a small business owner, what can I do? 
  • Families First Coronavirus Response Act
  • What can I do for my family, friends, co-workers and neighbors?
  • What resources are available for those at risk in mental health?
 
As family, friends, neighbors and business partners – we are concerned about you. If we can help in any way, please contact us and we will do our best to find the help and resources needed. Also, support your community and businesses. The potential future financial impact is unknown, and will be significant. It is important to now be part of your community.

Business Continuity and Networking – Yesterday, Today, and the Future!
Your agency and firm should be prepared for technical and environmental contingencies. The current state of emergency has left households and businesses uncertain. The following will help you adapt to a more streamlined business process, and adapted as part of your business continuity plan. Since 1987, our agency has grown and adapted to clients, judicial practices, legal investigation practices, business practices, and technology.
 
1987 – There were no cell phones or emails. Payphones and courtesy phones were everywhere. Fax machines were becoming common. How did we start business and stay in touch with clients? We used an answering machine which would page a beeper after a message, the message was retrieved, and clients called back within 15-30 minutes. pages me for return calls. Not much later, a numeric pager was added in which clients could enter their office number and then a code indicating their need and urgency.
 
1995 – Cell phones and email were becoming popular, and the used of beepers and pagers ended; however, emails were mostly personal and not business use. We added a fax machine and then used technology to enhance our communications capabilities on a single phone line – call waiting, selective call answering (assigned its own phone numbers and would ring the fax machine, cell phone, business calls, and home calls). A colleague in England shared how to tether a cell phone to a laptop for wireless access of databases and email. This was so unique, the law enforcement did not yet have Mobile Data Terminals (MDTs) and the local police department asked how we communicated in this way. Being the first agency in Colorado to offer this, our clients were pleased to have near instantaneous communications and answers.
 
In 1996 – just one year later, the first ability to add web-based fax sending and receiving was added (not via email). We were able to add this to our process serving – receiving pleadings with immediate urge needs to serve (with a mobile printer). We were able to forward our fax number to the web-based fax service and use the fax line as our data line for the online databases.
 
Jump to 2012 when we sold our home and traveled 27 states in our RV – and always making sure our clients were taken care of, and even improved. How did we do this? Learn more on these two blog articles, written during our travels.
  • www.DeathCaseReview.com/afi-llc-blog/the-mobile-pi-tips-and-tricks-part-1
  • www.DeathCaseReview.com/afi-llc-blog/the-mobile-pi-tips-and-tricks-2 
  • www.DeathCaseReview.com/afi-llc-blog/the-mobile-pi-tips-and-tricks-part-3
 
This brings us to 2015 and today, as we were fully adapted to a 95% paperless office and also 95% cloud based with redundant data and communications backup. When the state of emergency was declared in Colorado and nationwide, we literally started work without any change to meeting our clients’ needs, and those of the associations and members we work with (Karen is also the Executive Director of NCISS and Administrative Manager of WAD – we were prepared and ready as a matter of our standard business practices. How did we do this?
 
Learn how we efficiently multi-task and maintain our daily activities for clients using these tools. Visit this article on our blog at www.DeathCaseReview.com/afi-llc-blog/time-is-money-multi-tasking-is-time-recovered!
- DropBox - http://DropBox.PrivateInvestigations.org
  or OneDrive - http://OneDrive.PrivateInvestigations.org
- Right Inbox for Gmail - www.RightInBox.com
- Desktop Texting - www.MySMS.com
- Ring Central Faxing - http://Fax.PrivateInvestigations.org
- Ring Central VOIP - http://RingCentral.PrivateInvestigations.org
- Toll-Free Numbers - http://Kall8.PrivateInvestigations.org (PIs - contact our office for more uses)
- ​Split View - www.SplitView.com

Part of daily activities and business continuity includes finding assistance outside of your area – location and specialties. Here are steps to take to find a vetted and reliable Professional Investigator:
1. Reach out to someone you professionally know and trust in the area or expertise.
2. Reach out to the state or specialty associations - join them.
3. Reach out to a national association - NCISS and NALI vet their membership to be in compliance with licensing and ethics - join them.
4. If international, reach out to WAD’s vetted membership - join them.
5. Vet your decisions, including through your associations network.
6. Don't throw your request for assistance out to unvetted groups in social media or generic listservs. Why trust your business and your client to the unknown?
 
Through our memberships we have a trusted network of thousands in almost every state and almost 100 countries. We have a very personal network of over 2000 PIs we personally know and trust.
 
Don't just join - be active! We are involved in every association we belong to - not just as members, but from committees to the board, and Karen is the Administrative Manager or Executive Director of two.

Here some of our memberships and recommendations, and members of these associations get preference for direct referrals - www.DeathCaseReview.com/Associations.
 
Special Distance Learning Opportunities
Due to the current state of emergency, all associations and training events have been canceled through June. The following are resources available for distance learning.

  • PI Education offers courses for continuing education requirements. We have arranged with www.PIeducation.com for discounts on the death investigation course we developed, and a general discount for all of their courses. Please use these discount codes:
https://pieducation.com/product/equivocal-death-investigations
Coupon Code: DeathInvestigator for 20% off this course (expires 04-30-2020)
 
All other courses - Coupon Code: FriendsofDean for 10% off (expires 06-30-2020)

  • The Hetherington Group (HG) has updated their OSINT webinar content into packages of core and advanced skill sets. These are now recorded sessions at your own pace and gain quality CEU's during quarantine. The packages offer 4 hours of continuous training. HG is offering a bonus 20-minute individual consultation for each participant.
www.hetheringtongroup.com/training/webinars

  • Criminal Defense Investigation Training Council is offering discounted distance learning during this time. Primarily for criminal defense investigators, al investigative disciplines are welcome.
www.defenseinvestigator.com/distancelearning.html

  • Investigator Ethics for the PI, Consumer and Client offered by Udemy and presented by AFI-LLC informs the student - from consumer to attorney, and interested to veteran private investigator - there are ethics which must be followed and apply to both investigator/consumer and investigator/attorney relationships. Ethics serve both professional and consumer protection. Only facts obtained ethically can be evidence - facts without ethics is not evidence.
www.udemy.com/investigator-attorney-ethics-for-the-consumer

  • Basics of Skip Tracing, Backgrounds & Assets Investigations offered by Udemy and presented by AFI-LLC is designed for the person interested in becoming an investigator, and the new to intermediate experienced investigators. All general investigations use these basic concepts - making this an excellent beginner course. In the course will be taught how to the student will also be able to improve and increase their results of successfully closed cases. The goal is to introduce strong fundamentals to understand and apply the basic investigative concepts for skip tracing, background and asset & liabilities investigations.
www.udemy.com/skip-tracing-backgrounds-assets-investigations-101

  • Basic Forensic Scene Photography offered by Udemy and presented by AFI-LLC is designed for the new and veteran private investigators, law enforcement, insurance adjusters and attorneys with an interest and need to document, or analyze, scenes and evidence using photography. This course covers the equipment and selection, processes and protocols, and legal considerations. This is important for any investigator conducting, or expert analyzing, photographs for litigation - forensic photography.
www.udemy.com/basic-forensic-scene-photography

  • Equivocal Death Investigations offered by PI Education and presented by AFI-LLC. This training course is designed to provide a basic introduction into the concepts of the official investigation of death, such as by a coroner or medical examiner office, and the role the private investigator may play in an equivocal death investigation. As might be expected, there are similar roles, overlapping roles and, of course, different roles and responsibilities.
https://pieducation.com/product/equivocal-death-investigations

  • S2 Distance Learning Portal is offered by Associates in Forensic Investigations in partnership with the S2 Safety & Intelligence Institute. These courses are specifically developed for distance learning.
http://afi.s2institute.com

  • NW3C provides a nationwide support system for law enforcement and regulatory agencies tasked with the prevention, investigation, and prosecution of economic and high-tech crime.
www.nw3c.org/webinars#OnDemand

  • National Institute of Justice On-demand events include online, self-paced training, and recordings of past events.
https://nij.ojp.gov/events/on-demand

  • National Association for Public Defense provides weekly training and information webinars primarily for attorneys and investigators working criminal defense cases.
www.publicdefenders.us/calendar_list.asp

When we learn of new schedules, we will include them on our agency Facebook page and in future agency newsletters!
0 Comments

The Value of Associations

3/1/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture
The Value of Associations –
Keeping You in Business, Networking, and Peer-to-Peer Networking
Last month’s blog commentary featured the growing trend – and professional concerns – of ‘Restricting PI Access to Public Records’. As noted, this stems from uninformed online media finding references to states making large profits from the selling of personal data and public records. In the next of this three-part series, we look at ‘The Value of Associations Keeping You in Business, Networking, and Peer-to-Peer Networking’. Growing nationally state by state is the drive of misinformed privacy advocates, legislators, regulators, and even governors to introduce restrictive - or outright bans - specific to private investigators in various records important to the work we do for our clients.


The article from last month was said, by some, to be a ‘hit piece’ against them personally, and their social media groups. Nothing could be further from the truth. The article targeted no person or group – it did target the growing trend and concern of misinformed media and privacy advocates sourcing from the investigator groups on social media. As such, we are our first defense.
 
What is the first defense of our profession? As mentioned in the closing of last month’s commentary – be professional, and use only professionals and professional resources. There are no shortcuts to professionalism.

Be involved! Join and support your state and national associations to better ourselves and our profession. Not just for continuing education, also for state and federal legislative advocacy. Here is a link to more on associations, their resources, and their value - www.DeathCaseReview.com/associations.
 
What are the benefits to membership and being involved?
There are several benefits, most of which are overlooked for the more tangible benefits, such as services and discounts. Let’s look beyond these – as every association offers these to differing degrees. Being involved in membership and leadership to management roles of multiple state, national and international associations, we see some common and unique traits to each, and their benefits – as well as detractions. Some associations are run by an elected board, others by an elected executive team, and others are as private associations at the discretion of the leadership. Again, these all have their benefits and detractions. Finally, each association has their primary and secondary purposes – and all are focused on membership. Before looking at these, let’s look at the Myths of Associations.
 
The Myths of Associations
The first myth of every association is they are ‘Good Old Boy’ (or Girl) clubs. From this it continues with associations being to profit only themselves, with personal agendas of leadership, and no real benefits to members. The reality is every group from pre-school to community senior centers – our entire lives – are filled with cliques, groups and clubs. Associations are no different, and these do keep others from joining – it did us. As things changed with our state association, we joined and watched as PPIAC did go from being a ‘club’ atmosphere to one of the most recognized and active associations nationwide – what we call, “The biggest little association” which does meet the challenges of the largest associations. From PPIAC we learned about other leading associations – NALI, NCISS, WAD, CDITC to name a few – and we became involved as members, and also active within various committee and leadership and even management positions of some.
 
We also often hear associations are in it for the profit, and those running the associations personal profit. Trust us – this is patently false. Most associations we belong to are non-profit, and these have elected board and/or management teams. The financials are open to membership, and it is easily seen the checks and balances prevent personal profit. Of course, there must be an association profit to stay running – associations are businesses; however, they are not in the profit business. In fact, every association we are involved in runs on a tight budget. For most the largest expense is membership continuing education and training related – the actual costs of which attendees do not actually cover. These costs are covered by sponsors, donations and subsidized.
 
As mentioned with cliques, clubs and other creating associations to drive personal agendas – they exist, and we are not part of them. A little research will tell you. Telling points are the same leadership year after year, no accountability of financials, low membership numbers, and no true benefits to members – other than being a member. Yes, we have seen personal agendas in every association we are part of – membership is human, as is leadership – and with this comes human nature and even personal agendas. Through the checks and balances of the associations these can be addressed; if not, the association – at least leadership – will begin to crumble and fail, and it has happened. Again, with a little research this can be discovered.
 
The last complaint we hear of why associations are not joined – and social media is preferred – is there are no benefits. First, it really depends on what a member is expecting from joining. Some expect to get referrals from day one. We have witnessed members truly expecting other members to send work their way, without any additional effort to their own marketing. Similarly, we have seen members expect others to provide training and mentorship, and again without any additional effort to do so on their own. Benefits first come from what the member puts into it.
 
The Benefits of Associations
What to expect from associations differs greatly with their purpose – their Mission Statement. Some are primarily networking and training, others advocacy and legislation, and others more focused – such as litigation, criminal defense, or expert witness associations. Many state associations do their best to serve all of these purposes, as they do have multiple roles. Generally, we have found most associations support each other. This is important as one national association may be about litigation and defense, and another advocacy and legislation – and with mutual membership, their support of each other benefits members and association growth. When the national associations, state associations, and specialty associations all mutually support each other – the membership greatly benefits. However, this mutual support is not a substitute for the individual joining and being active in each of these.
 
Most current and prospective members are looking for tangible benefits – something which covers their annual dues, often $100 to $200 annually (and, yes, having multiple memberships does add up). Broken down, each membership is 2-3 hours of net billed time. Taking this into account, the return on membership investment is paid back quickly just in tangible benefits. Most of these are office supply discounts, agency insurance discounts, car rental and hotel discounts, and even discounts to joining other associations. Just as the cost of dues adds up, so does the savings from tangible benefits. The most forgotten tangible benefit – discounted training opportunities – from some offering free new member investigator bootcamps, to discounted conferences with special speakers and training, which is especially helpful if licensing or certification requires annual continuing education. Even if not – for the individual benefit and client confidence, continuing education is important. These benefits may keep the individual in business, and there are others most often not realized.
 
The most overlooked – and expected – benefits are the non-tangible benefits. These are primarily networking opportunities. These most often come from the association listservs, and this is where social media and associations greatly differ – and may be of mutual benefit. First, social media groups are part of… socializing; they are not an environment for our profession to have discussion of confidential matters and resources. Even on the association listservs – all are closed and for members only, and most are moderated – these discussions are limited. We will address this specific issue, benefits and harm, next month. Too often a member expects to receive a volume of work through association referrals. This is a reasonable expectation – reasonable, but not a given. For us, our networking referrals are word of mouth. Where did this word of mouth come from? If we belong to 2-3 associations, all having some mutual members and our active involvement being more in some and less in others – how do we know? Its actually irrelevant to us simply because we are not reliant on any single association for networking and referrals – we rely on all of them together. We have developed strong relationships through our membership and involvement, being active. We first turn to these relationships for referrals, directing clients to assistance, and finding our own assistance. We know our colleagues do the same. Our strongest relationships are with the leaders of these associations.
 
The Leadership of Associations
Just as every professional is the leader of their agency, or at least a strong contributor to the agency they work with – and all of us are to our clients – associations have leadership. Not all leadership is perfect, at any level or point in our lives; we are an imperfect people and thankfully so. Leadership comes with experience and working together. Membership is always the first priority of every association, leadership and mission – there is no other reason to exist, and without membership there is no existence. It’s a mutually beneficial thing. We strongly encourage every member of every association to be involved – attend meetings, attend conferences, and attend the inner workings of your association. One benefit to membership is being able to attend and learn what does happen. Too often there is misinformation, often originating from those with a dislike and having never attended a meeting or event. If there is dissatisfaction – join, attend, and foster positive relationships and changes.
 
There are two distinct leadership styles in associations – the elected board and / or elected executive team, and private associations. As active members of both styles, we see how these work and overall both are beneficial to their membership. We are very selective about our association memberships and have avoided those which do not serve members, do serve only the leadership agenda (not financially), and are more of clique or club over serving the members. Leadership has cycles, which comes with agreement and disagreement, experience and inexperience. We soon veteran board members continuing to be active and help guide the up and coming members, to keep the traditions and welcome new ones.
 
Leadership does come with a cost – to the individual. There are no associations which pay members to be part of leadership. There may be some expenses covered, which are approved in the bylaws, policies and board actions. However, having been volunteering ourselves for over a decade in multiple associations and roles – we can attest to the fact these come at great cost of personal time and monies. Every volunteer leader we know has done so to contribute to the profession and people who helped them; to give back to those who have given so much.
 
The Purposes of Associations
Every association must have a membership driven purpose – a Mission Statement, and fulfill this promise. Being membership focused, the associations look to provide a return on the membership dues by the services – not the tangible benefits – being provided. This focus on membership is very important, and is the very foundation of success and growth to the association and members.
 
Every association has a primary purpose – it may be to provide top-level networking and training, or monitor legislation and advocacy, and any combination of these and other purposes and benefits. What does your association provide? Be sure and ask yourself – look deeper than the personal needs of networking and referrals – look to what associations do to keep you in business, to keep colleagues in business, and to grow and protect our profession – the membership. These are the primary and secondary purposes of every association working for its membership.
 
Associations and Social Media Groups
There has grown a misconception there is an adversity of associations and social media groups – competition. If so, this is individually and not to the associations or groups, including listservs (now being replaced by groups). We are members of associations, social media groups, and professional listservs outside of these associations and groups. They each serve unique purposes – each having mutual benefits, and some having potential harm. Next month we will look at these mutual benefits and harms.
 
Until then, remember – Together We’re Better!
www.DeathCaseReview.com/associations
0 Comments

Restricting PI Access to Public Records

2/2/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture
Restricting PI Access to Public Records
Growing nationally state by state is the drive of misinformed privacy advocates, legislators, regulators, and even governors to introduce restrictive - or outright bans - specific to private investigators in various records important to the work we do for our clients.
 


One such issue are driving records. Driven (no pun intended) by misinformation - and worse, assumption - several online media sources have published misleading stories of states making millions from the selling of personal data. We have expanded on this in this commentary. This is a rapidly growing trend - and it started with irresponsible and unprofessional behavior on social media platforms.

There are several online privacy and technology magazines which have been focusing on privacy, records, and private investigators. These concepts have somewhat merged to present a false alarm of the technology of records being easily obtained by private investigators and generating millions in revenue for states. This is not true. We will break this down. First, what started this damaging misinformation, and what has happened?

What started this misinformation?
In this case, and not solely - but from one of the articles - specifically stating they joined a closed PI group on social media. There they saw posts from private investigators asking how to obtain specific types of motor vehicle related records.
"Over 1,000 accounts have access to the [record provider] system, the contract adds. These accounts can be shared among multiple people at an organization, though. In a closed Facebook group for private investigators that [writer] gained access to, multiple posts include people asking for others to [obtain certain records] for them through their own access to [the record provider]." What was described - asking another PI to get information for them - is a violation of the record provider's Terms of Service. This activity of careless PIs is not the underlying problem - and is addressed by veteran PIs as soon as it is seen. The problem created was by the writer researching further, and assuming the information from the record provider came from a state department of motor vehicles. It does not - it comes from proprietary information used by law enforcement, repossession agents, and other legitimate uses for potential and current litigation. From this assumption, the writer made open records requests of over a dozen known states (from additional articles across various online publications). From these open records they found private investigators access these, and pay a fee. They then determined these state agencies make millions annually from these records fees.

What is wrong with these assumptions and misinformation?
As we pointed out - none of the information the articles posted about actually came from any state department of motor vehicles. However, PIs to legally make requests to these agencies for permissible purposes - which the articles do not point out to the readers (who are legislators and their constituents). Do these state agencies make millions of dollars? Certainly - and not from PIs or related (which is a very small percentage). The bigger customers are insurance companies, banks, collection agencies, and so on - PI's are way down the list. How and why can PIs - or these other companies - access these records? Its not as easy as making a request. There is a federal law - Driver's Protection Privacy Act - and every state has a similar law. The federal law requires a two-factor permissible test. For PIs this is usually: 1) licensed in the state in which they do business; and 2) for potential or actual litigation (there may be other reasons - fiduciary, probate, etc.). Every PI - every person or entity - making such a request has to meet the two-factor criteria.

These factors originate in other legislation - such as the Fair Credit Reporting Act, Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, Consumer Privacy Act, Graham-Leach-Bliley Act, and a host of others - each having a state equivalent. What is released depends on the requestor (licensed PI) and their purpose (litigation) - and differs depending on each factor. Each state may be more restrictive than the federal legislation. For example, California does not provide address information (FYI - California was the first to pass a DPPA law, followed by Congress, and each state*). As little as 25 years ago it was as simple as making a request - any person (being in business 32 years, 25 years is not long ago). A PI in California did so for a client, who unknown to him stalked a celebrity and killed her at home. The California Association of Licensed Investigators (CALI), and the National Council of Investigation & Security Services (NCISS) had members (some the same for both associations) testify before committees, and were able to draft the multi-factor permissible purposes language for the mutual benefit of clients and consumer protection.

What is damaging about these assumptions?
California was one of the first states to announced plans to introduce legislation further restricting their state DPPA, which is already the strictest in the country. This follows California recently passing privacy legislation which mirrors the new EU consumer privacy protection laws. One of the most recent stories to be printed - and continuing the false narrative of millions being made from PIs on these records - targeted Vermont. Within days the governor announced he would be taking executive action to ban the access of these records by PIs. The state association,Vermont Association of Investigative & Security Services (VAISS) immediately contacted the governor's office to correct the misinformation and share the important work for the public PIs do using various resources of what is public information. Within five days the governor acted as promised, and the state legislature is drafting legislation to further restrict their DPPA permitted purposes - which includes prohibiting PIs. VAISS has also reached out to NCISS for advocacy assistance, and the National Association of Legal Investigators (NALI) for support. Several states, and Congress, are doing the same - either through legislation or regulatory rule making.

What are the benefits to these records?
First, a reminder there are restrictions by law and regulation, federal and state / local, and whether direct (our primary resource) or via data provider. These restrictions require permissible purposes with multi-factor authentication, and are audited.

Next, let's look at what what restrictions various associations have put on their members, and is part of our agency ethics - adopted from a 2012 resolution from NCISS; and every state PI licensing law prohibits accepting any case in which there is a protection order and may lead to the identity and/or location of the protected person(s):
"As Professional Investigators and Expert Consultants we shall, prior to providing a client any personally identifying or location information of an individual, conduct appropriate due diligence to ensure that the person has a legitimate business or legal interest in obtaining that information. When such due diligence is not possible or appropriate, or if the person appears to not have a legal or business interest, the person shall be informed that their contact information shall be provided to the subject they are seeking and the personal identifying information of the subject they are seeking shall only be provided to the person if that party consents.)"

Here is a short list of the most common investigative use of records:
  • Obtaining Criminal Histories
  • Locating Ill Gotten Gains
  • Finding Witnesses and Parties to Litigation
  • Obtaining Delinquent Child Support
  • Locating Missing Persons
  • Assisting ID Theft Victims
  • Locating Missing Heirs
  • Finding "Deadbeat Parents"
  • Preventing Fraud & Fighting Identity Theft
  • Workplace Violence
  • Sexual Harassment
  • Locating Debtors
  • Finding Pension Beneficiaries
  • Protecting Consumers

At times our profession can be our worst enemy, not with any intention - simply from the best of intentions. Whether trying to help a client or a colleague, there is always the risk our intent and use will be exploited by others - as has been. Having been in the profession for over 30 years, we have seen the good and bad books, movies, television, and the media can do - also often without intention and often for entertainment. However, there are always unintended consequences for any manner of the most seemingly benign carelessness or exploitation - and both.

What can PIs and Clients do?
Be professional, and use only professionals and professional resources. There are no shortcuts to professionalism.

Also, be involved. Join and support your state and national associations to better ourselves and our profession. Not just for continuing education, also for state and federal legislative advocacy. Here is a link to more on associations, their resources, and their value - www.DeathCaseReview.com/associations.

As an Investigator, Security Agency, Process Server, or related professional… have you benefited from:
  • Having access to driving records and motor vehicle information from your state DMV and private data providers?
  • Having access to databases with permissible purposes under the GLBA?
  • Having access to Social Security Numbers, Birthdates, Address History and other important information, including credit reports?
  • Carry a firearm in the course of your professional duties?
  • Having the ability to use a pretext for undercover operations, shopping services and other permissible purposes?
  • Used the National Sex Offender Registry (Dru’s Law) for background investigations?
  • Used GPS, drones and other modern technology in your investigations and security services?
If you answered YES to just one of these questions, you have directly benefited from the more than 40-year history of every state association and NCISS - member volunteers and every member - and these associations also support each other. NCISS and state association members have provided responsive testimony to Congress and federal regulators, as well as state legislatures with similar issues at the state level. This type of advocacy cannot happen without the membership, and cannot happen on the generic listserves or social media groups.
0 Comments

Investigating for Truth

1/5/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture
Investigating for Truth
Karen did a cryptogram in a recent newspaper and this was the quote...
"There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth; not going all the way, and not starting." - Buddha
 
We were both thinking how appropriate this is to investigations.
 
It is also, in essence, what our friends and colleagues in FL, Brandon Perron and Brad Perron teach for the CDITC Certified Criminal Defense Investigator (CCDI) in 'Uncovering Reasonable Doubt'; and also Bill Monroe in CA also teaches and expects this. Our clients expect this. Every professional investigator we network with expects this. It is also part of Dean's book and the Protocols to Legal Investigations and an investigator cannot simply 'conduct' an investigation - they must 'complete' the investigation.
 
This is one area in which we find mistakes are made in law enforcement and private part investigations – from civil and criminal, to domestic and probate cases. Of course, it all begins with starting and ends with completing, the investigation. The investigation does not end when elements or theories of allegations or proven or disproven. It ends when the process of uncovering evidence and the road to the truth ends.
 
Not Starting
This seems logical – to complete something you must first start something. However, time and again we are contacted to review case files – new, ready for trial, or post-conviction – and find this step didn’t happen. The breakdown in this step happens at various stages from the represented client, to the attorney, to the investigator.
 
As the attorney or attorney’s investigator it is important to communicate with the client’s responsible case manager to determine the tasks which have been completed, are pending for various reasons, are excluded for various reasons, and finding those overlooked. Checklists become very important no matter the experience. As professional investigators we have a duty to our clients and our liability to make sure any potential task is noted, a decision made in proceeding or not, and any findings.
 
Without checking off all potential, assigned or declined task, and any findings it is not possible to determine if the assignment is completed.
 
In Dean’s book this encompasses the first two steps in the Protocols to Legal Investigations – Prepare and Inquire. Every investigator in every case should be fully up to speed on the case and evidence when proceeding into any specific investigative tasks.
 
Not Going All the Way
There are many tasks within the assignment to complete before the legal investigation is completed. This may be a simple review of the adverse party’s civil disclosure, or the prosecutions criminal discovery, and to the routine tasks of witness interviews and records acquisition, all the way to the complex issues of evidence analysis and discovery.
 
Within the given time, budget, and resources – how far an investigation can be taken may be out of the investigator’s ultimate goal. It is our duty to be as complete and details as possible within these potential limitations.
 
Too often we see cases in which a decision was made, by the investigator or a case manager, to not seek additional resources, witnesses, evidence, etc. because there was thought to be no need. If the area is not explored the need and potential benefit cannot be realized.
 
In Dean’s book this specifically encompasses the third step – Analyze. Upon completion of every investigative task the investigator should review the case and evidence to determine if they are on the path to ‘Going All the Way’ and completing the task and ultimately the investigation.
 
Completing the Investigation
The Protocols to Legal Investigation are designed to assure each task in the investigative assignment is completed, and ultimately the investigation is completed. Of course this is within the constraints of time, budget, and resources – and should not be constrained by ability. The professional investigator’s ability is limited only by their knowledge, experience, continuing education, and professional networking. Each stage of Prepare, Inquire, Analyze, Document, and Report is designed for the investigator to meet these goals.
0 Comments

The Certified Forensic Science Investigator

11/3/2019

0 Comments

 
Picture
Picture
Picture
 What is the Certified Forensic Science Investigator (CFSI)?
 
Associates in Forensic Investigations is honored to announce our agency principles, Dean A. Beers and Karen S. Beers, have each earned the CFSI designation by the Criminal Defense Investigators Training Council. Together both have become CDITC triple-certified in investigative specialties through education, training, experience, and examination. As a husband and wife Team Beers, they are part of a unique group to do so.
 
The areas of focus are:
- Bloodstain Pattern Analysis
- Forensic Firearms
- Fingerprints
- Forensic Photography

Learn more about this training and certification at http://cditctraining.com/cdiacademyprogram.html
Each area is covered from the history to the scientific processes specific to forensic evidence and forensic investigation. Examination is comprehensive following the multi-day 20 hours of the education and training component by CDITC. This gives the investigator the knowledge and background in understanding the scientific principles of these areas of forensic science and forensic investigations.
 
Our agency works with other experts and attorneys in personal injury, negligence and death in civil, criminal and probate litigation. This added certification, and earning it, added to the skillsets we provide. The role of the CFSI in criminal defense is to assist in guiding the attorney and litigation team with the evaluation and analysis of the forensic evidence, appropriate collection, reliance in testing, and review of the reported results. This information is then used to determine any connection, or lack thereof, between the persons, scene, evidence (i.e. weapon), and victim. Additional specific re-testing and verification is either recommended or conducted by the CFSI.
 
In the areas of death and serious bodily injury investigations, these areas of forensic science are often key components and evidence. Having a comprehensive knowledge of these assures the client this specialized area of investigation will be competently reviewed, and any more specialized expertise continued by the investigator, or recommendations for a qualified expert in advanced areas made.
 
Our agency principles have extensive experience in these, and other advanced forensic investigation areas, including providing continuing education and consultations. In many cases, all of these areas are key to understanding the complexity of an event. Doing so enables a more advanced investigation and expert consultation, often providing a comprehensive finding of the chronology of events, as well as verifying or invalidating evidentiary findings, witness statements, and adverse party narratives.
 
Associates in Forensic Investigations is committed to our continuing education, and providing the highest quality of skilled expert legal investigation and consultations to our clients. With a focus on Personal Injury, Negligence and Death in Civil, Criminal and Probate litigation. Earning the CDITC Board Certified Forensic Science Investigators designation tells our clients and colleagues we are committed to doing so – we are committed to them.

-----
Dean A. Beers, CLI* and Karen S. Beers, BSW* (*CCDI, CFI-FTER, CFSI)
Colorado Licensed Private Investigators (PI2.050 and PI2.019)
Cheyenne WY Licensed Private Investigators & Security (31146)
Board Certified Legal Investigator / Expert Consultant
Board Certified Criminal Defense Investigators
Board Certified Forensic Interviewers-Forensic Testimonial Evidence Recovery
Board Certified Forensic Science Investigators
Certified in Medicolegal Death Investigations / former Deputy Coroners

Associates in Forensic Investigations, LLC
A Rocky Mountain West Agency
Expert Consultants and Legal Investigators
Personal Injury, Negligence & Death in Civil, Criminal and Probate Litigation

www.DeathCaseReview.com ~ beersda@DeathCaseReview.com
CO - (970) 480-7793 Office / TXT and (970) 480-7794 Fax
WY - (307) 222-0136 Office / TXT and (307) 222-0138 Fax
'Quaero Indicium' - To Find The Evidence

Current information on our primary agency website for services, forms, and CVs.
-- Your Investigators - www.DeathCaseReview.com/legal-investigations
-- At Your Service - www.DeathCaseReview.com/principals-bios
-- Dean's CV - http://dab-cv.DeathCaseReview.com
-- Karen's CV - http://ksb-cv.DeathCaseReview.com
-- References - http://references.DeathCaseReview.com
0 Comments
<<Previous
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Preview our courses
    Picture
    Picture
    Dean - LinkedIn
    Karen - LinkedIn

    News and Events in the legal, investigative and forensic world...

    As our services focus on the areas of expert consultations and legal investigations of personal injury, negligence and death in civil, criminal and probate litigation - these are what our blog will be about.  Also look for news from our associations - PPIAC, NALI, NCISS, WAD, NAME, etc.

    Archives

    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    December 2016
    July 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    February 2016
    July 2015
    June 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011

(c) 2020 Associates in Forensic Investigations LLC ~ Expert Legal Investigators & Medicolegal Consultations
CO (970) 480-7793 and WY (307) 222-0136 ~:~ Associates@DeathCaseReview.com
The information found on this website is for general information purposes only. Any information found on this website does not constitute advice or a solicitation of clients, nor does it create a relationship between the reader and Associates in Forensic Investigations, LLC or its principals.