In April 2012 I attended the NCISS (National Council of Investigative and Security Services) Hit the Hill for the first time in Washington, D.C. In conjunction with Hit the Hill, NCISS held a day of training called the State Association Advisory Board, or SAAB for short. SAAB’s purpose is to create a forum to exchange ideas, information, needs, and concerns relative to state and regional associations. NCISS requested for one of the Colorado private investigator attendees to create a presentation on the licensing effort in Colorado. I volunteered (or was volunteered, rather) to give this presentation to SAAB attendees. It was a privilege for me to be able to play the role of storyteller and to represent Colorado private investigators in recounting road leading to the passage of Colorado’s licensing law.
I honestly expected other NCISS members to be somewhat detached or otherwise unaware of Colorado’s recent efforts. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that not only was the presentation well received, but investigators across the country had been closely following Colorado’s recent legislative efforts including the anti-surveillance bill in 2010 and the licensing effort in 2011. NCISS leaders requested an article version of the presentation, which I submitted for consideration in the upcoming issue of the NCISS Report.
If you are a private investigator or a security professional and have not had the opportunity to attend a Hit the Hill, I highly recommend it. It was a privilege for me to be able to represent the investigative profession in lobbying at the national level. I felt like I was able to fulfill a bucket list item that I didn’t realize was on my bucket list until I took part in it. If you feel like it would be too daunting or intimidating to help investigators lobby on Capitol Hill, I can relate. However, what gave me the confidence to take part in Hit the Hill is the experience that I received from lobbying efforts in Colorado. Three years ago, I had absolutely no experience lobbying or testifying on legislative issues. However, with the assistance of other members of the Professional Private Investigators Association of Colorado, I was able to obtain a crash course in legislative efforts. In short, it’s beneficial to gain experience at the state level, so you can then take that experience to Washington, D.C. From the SAAB presentation, to the lobbying experience, to the camaraderie of nationally recognized investigators and security professionals, to visiting the nation’s memorials, to the space shuttle Discovery flying over D.C. on the day of the NCISS lobbying, it was truly an awesome experience. For more information on NCISS, please visit http://www.nciss.com/
Colorado Private Investigator Licensing has been restored! The Department of Regulatory Agency’s website now has everything private investigators need to apply for a Colorado license. In late March, a PPIAC member noted that Arapahoe Community College was only offering ink fingerprinting, and thus could not submit the prints electronically to the Colorado Bureau of Investigations. Recently, I went to ACC to have my prints taken, and they are now offering electronic fingerprinting which can be submitted directly to CBI. The fingerprinting fee may vary from location to location, but I liked ACC for it’s electronic submission to CBI. Between that and DORA’s application, the licensing process is not very time consuming compared to other license applications for other states. If you plan to have your license before July 1st, make sure you submit your application and fingerprints ASAP. I recommend definitely getting everything submitted by June 1st. It seems like it’s still very early, but there is time needed for the CBI backgrounds and the applications to be processed. Some investigators have already been issued license numbers, so though the licensing program does not become effective until July 1st, DORA has started processing applications! Click here to go to DORA’s website: http://www.dora.state.co.us/private-investigator/index.htm
For Colorado private investigators interested in attending the June PPIAC meeting, Jane Cracraft, a past President of PPIAC is scheduled to give a presentation entitled When Databases Aren’t Enough. Jane’s credentials and accomplishments include being a Certified Criminal Defense Investigator, a Certified Legal Investigator, a part time instructor at CU-Boulder for several years, a contributing author to reference texts published by Lawyers and Judges Publishing Company, a founding member of the Boulder Press Club, and Associate Editor for Professional Investigator Magazine among other accomplishments. If you subscribe to PI Magazine, the June 2012 issue features an article by Jane, and is an indication of the caliber of this investigator Colorado has to offer.
Also in the current issue of PI Magazine is a short article written by PPIAC’s own Jennifer Brown on Improving Witness Appearance. I hope to see you at the next PPIAC meeting! Details are on the PPIAC website at http://ppiac.org/info/june-2012-meeting