CPES Update Below is a January, 2006, response from Bill Kiley to Detective A. Garcia, Middletown (RI) Police Department, who inquired about the merit of CPES certification and the advantage to law enforcement agencies whose employees are so certified. Bill is the principal of Kiley Associates, and is President of the Board of Directors of the International Association of Property and Evidence. He is the coordinator of IAPE's, CPES certification program. Dear Detective Garcia, Below is a copy of an article that I wrote for the Evidence Log several years ago as we were getting ready to start up the CPES program. I think that the article may provide you with some information that may be of interest to your Chief. In addition to the article, the trend towards CPES certification continues to grow throughout the U.S. and Canada; we currently have over 400 people who have become certified. Three municipalities in the U.S. have begun to require the CPES certification for promotion and/or appointment. Fairfax, Virginia has made the CPES certification a requirement for hiring to work in Property and Evidence, and gives the applicant provisional hiring status that is contingent upon achieving the CPES designation. We feel that the CPES certification may also be a significant benefit at criminal trials where, more and more, evidence custodians/ property officers are being called to testify as to the storage, chain-of-custody, etc. We are seeing the beginning of a trend wherein property officers are receiving subpoenas on prosecutions based upon Cold Case hits. The defense begins to explore the climate control conditions of storage, who had access to the Property Room during the years that the evidence was stored there, etc. The Property Officer who is testifying can help to establish professional competence and credibility by advising that she/he is a Certified Property and Evidence Specialist. To achieve that status, the person must have attended training, had sufficient on-the-job experience, and successfully passed a written examination. Here is the article: Certification benefits the individual who is certified, the employer of that individual, the judicial system, and the general public who are serviced by the department and/or agency that employs the certified professional. Your I.A.P.E. Board of Directors has spent a significant amount of time researching the implementation of a new program that will result in many of our members of our organization achieving a certification as a "Certified Property and Evidence Specialist" or C.P.E.S. Within the next few months you will be receiving information regarding the exact procedure to apply for the C.P.E.S.; however, the Board felt that the time has come to provide you with a brief overview of this new and exciting development within I.A.P.E. Why Certification? You are familiar with traditional certification programs that are found in many professions, such as accounting, medicine, and education. Why is it that these professions, and others, have implemented certification programs and procedures? Quite simply, certification is designed to demonstrate that the person who has been awarded a certification has demonstrated professional competency through a process of voluntary certification. Certification is intended to assist employers, potential employers, and the general public in identifying individuals who are skilled in a particular area. Certification programs are usually administered by professional societies and require applicants to meet identified criteria that include knowledge of skills testing. During the past decade there has been an incredible growth in specialization within all professions, including the criminal justice profession. Many of these law enforcement specialization's, e.g. finger print identification technicians, have created professional societies which have initiated certification programs for people working in their field. Certification benefits the individual who is certified, the employer of that individual, the judicial system, and the general public who are serviced by the department and/or agency that employs the certified professional. For employers, the process of certification helps to insure that the employee is knowledgeable in their area of expertise, has spent time working in the specialized area, has earned some educational credentials in their field, and participates in professional activities within that specialized field. W. I. I. - F. M. Do you remember that old favorite radio station "W. I. I. - F. M.," which actually is an acronym for "What's In It For Me?" So what's in it for you to become a C.P.E.S.? Why should you consider becoming a C.P.E.S.? As a Certified Property and Evidence Specialist you will demonstrate and document your professional competency. You will be recognized among your peers in the Property and Evidence field as a person who possesses the knowledge and skills to be considered a specialist in your field. Cun'ent and future employers will immediately know that your qualifications have been certified by the world's leading professional organization for Property and Evidence. Your C.P.E.S. is another resume' item which may be very valuable should you have to testify in a criminal and/or civil proceeding. Additionally, C.P.E.S. certification may well be used as leverage in contract negotiations for salary, educational reimbursement, and consideration for position upgrade or promotion, etc. For many of us, the greatest benefit of receiving a professional certification is the self-satisfaction of knowing that we've achieved this status and recognition within our professional field. How do I become a C.P.E.S.? Specific requirements and details to apply for the C.P.E.S. will be published in each issue of The Evidence Log(c); however, the I.A.P.E. Board has determined that C.P.E.S. certification will be contingent upon several criteria: * Completion of the I.A.P.E. "Basic Property & Evidence Course" (this is the two-day course which most of our members have attended).Consider becoming one of the first to proudly display your Certification as a C.P.E.S. at your Property Room, and please let me know if I can be of any further assistance. William P. Kiley, President Copyright © 2006 International Association for Property and Evidence, Inc. Reprinted from the Evidence Log, Volume 2006, Number 1, Page 55 |
