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IAI TEN PRINT FINGERPRINT CERTIFICATION
PROGRAM
Section
1 The Tenprint
Certification Program
Under the auspices of the International Association
for Identification (IAI), herein also called the parent body, the
Tenprint Certification Program was written to set standards for
examiners involved in the Science of Fingerprints at the tenprint
level. The
certification process comprises four sections. The first is intended to
test the applicant’s ability to accurately compare and identify
unknown impressions; the second portion tests the applicants
knowledge of the science of fingerprints; the third portion ensures
that the applicant fully understands and can demonstrate their
ability to obtain and evaluate tenprint cards for accuracy and
quality; and the forth portion is to ensure that the applicant is
fully prepared to articulate their expertise in a court of law.
Section
2 Requirements for
Certification
Part 1
General Qualifications
1.
An
applicant for certification must be of good moral character, high
integrity, good repute, and must possess a high ethical and
professional standing.
2.
An
applicant must sign in appropriate places on the IAI application for
certification form indicating that they have read, understand and
are bound by the IAI Code of Ethics and Standards for Professional
Conduct.
Part
II Technical
Requirements
1. An applicant for
certification must have acquired a minimum of forty (40) hours of
Board approved continuing education credits in recording,
classifying, filing, and searching of tenprint,
and
2. Minimum of forty (40)
hours of additional Board approved continuing education credits in
tenprint, and
3. Must have completed a
minimum of sixteen (16) hours of Board approved training in
courtroom testimony.
Part
III Basic Experience
Requirements
1. An applicant for
certification must have a minimum of two (2) years of full-time
experience in recording, classifying, filing, and searching of
tenprints after meeting Part II, Technical
Requirements.
2. If less than full-time
experience for given time period is possessed, time must be
accumulated to reach an acceptable
minimum.
Part
IV Educational
Requirements
1. Two options exist for
an applicant to meet educational requirements for
certification.
·
Minimum of an Associate’s
Degree or documentation of sixty (60) semester hours or ninety (90)
quarter hours of college credit.
OR
·
Experience can be substituted
for the two-year college degree requirement at a rate of one (1)
year of full-time experience as a tenprint examiner for one (1) year
of college plus the basic experience of two (2) years required for a
total of four (4) years experience as a full-time tenprint
examiner.
3.
Educational requirements are
not applicable to recertification.
Part
V
Endorsements
An
applicant for certification must submit two letters of
endorsement.
·
If
the applicant is employed by a public law enforcement agency, one
letter shall be from a superior within the applicant’s department or
agency. The second
letter shall be from an associate in the field of fingerprints who
is a member of an IAI state or regional division and/or the parent
body.
·
If
the applicant is in private practice, both letters shall be from
employees of governmental agencies within the Criminal Justice
System, provided however, that one of the two shall be from the
field of fingerprints and is a member of an IAI state or regional
division and/or the parent body.
·
If
the applicant is using the experience substitution to meet the
educational requirements, letters of endorsement shall include
information concerning the number of years of full-time experience
the applicant possesses.
Section
3
Examinations
The IAI
Tenprint Certification examination will be administered in
accordance with the written test procedures described in Section
8.
Certification shall be determined by testing. The basic certification test
shall be developed and maintained by the IAI Tenprint
Certification Board.
The applicant will have four (4) hours to complete Parts I,
II, and III of the test.
The test comprises the
following:
Part
1
Comparisons
Comparison of twenty (20) single impressions to known
tenprints. The
applicant must correctly identify sixteen (16) of the tenprints with
no erroneous identifications: Results: Pass or
Fail.
Part
11 Written
Examination
A. PATTERN RECOGNITION AND
INTERPRETATION – Pattern recognition and interpretation comprise the
following components with results recorded as Pass or
Fail:
(1) Correctly
block five (5) tenprint cards using standard “Integrated Automated Fingerprint
Identification System” (IAFIS)
codes.
(2) Correctly
classify the five (5) tenprint cards using Henry Fingerprint
Classification.
(3) Correctly
classify the five (5) tenprint cards using National Crime Information
Center (N.C.I.C.) Classification.
B. QUESTIONS - Relative to
the permanence/uniqueness of fingerprints, history of fingerprints,
pattern interpretation, AFIS, Livescan, and ridgeology. Questions shall be in the
form of multiple choice and true/false. Applicant must score 80% to
pass this portion of the test.
Results recorded as: Pass or Fail.
Recommended reading material includes: The Science of Fingerprints,
U.S. Justice Department,
Advances in Fingerprint Technology, 2nd Edition,
Henry C. Lee and R. E. Gaensslen, Scott’s Fingerprint Mechanics,
Robert D. Olsen, Sr., and
Quantitative – Qualitative Friction Ridge Analysis, David R.
Ashbaugh.
1. An applicant for
certification who does not complete or who fails the test for any
other reason than an erroneous identification must wait six (6)
months from the test date before
reapplying.
2. An applicant for
certification who fails the test by making one or more erroneous
identifications must wait one (1) year before applying to retake the
test.
3. An applicant for
certification who reapplies must submit a new application with all
attachments, as well as any fee that may be in effect at that
time.
4. An applicant for
certification who does not complete or who fails any part of the
test must retake only that part which was incomplete or failed,
unless an erroneous identification was made. In the case of an erroneous
identification, the entire test must be
retaken.
Part
III Technical
Examination
The
technical examination is intended to ensure that the applicant fully understands and
can demonstrate their ability to obtain and evaluate tenprint
records for accuracy and quality.
·
At the
time of taking the written portion of the exam, the applicant must submit a tenprint record that
they personally recorded.
The applicant’s name and the date the prints were rolled must
be recorded on the tenprint card.
·
An
applicant will be given ten (10) sets of tenprint cards and will
have to accurately evaluate said records in order to complete this
portion of the test.
(Pass or Fail).
Part
IV Case
Review
If on the
original application for certification the applicant had indicated
having previously testified in a court of law to tenprint
identifications, the letter of acceptance will specify a 90-day time
limit by which the applicant must submit to the Division
Certification Committee the documentation of prior testimony and a
case for review.
If on the
original application for certification the applicant had indicated
that they have not previously testified in a court of law to a
tenprint identification, the letter of acceptance will specify that
the applicant will appear before an oral board conducted by the
Division Certification Committee.
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