Bloodstain Pattern Examiner Certification Requirements

A minimum of forty (40) hours of education in an approved workshop providing theory, study and practice as follows:

1. Flight characteristics and stain patterns
2. Examination and identification of bloodstain evidence
3. Documentation of blood stains and patterns

This forty (40) hour course must include the following:

1. Oral and/or visual presentation of physical activity of blood droplets illustrating blood as fluid being acted upon by motion or force. Past research, treatise or other reference materials for the student.
2. Laboratory exercises which document bloodstains and standards by previous research. Exercises must include - but not be limited to the following:

Blood in motion striking a horizontal surface or vertical target. Study of spot size, shape and spatter characteristics related to:

1. distance fallen
2. speed of travel
3. direction of travel

Laboratory manual and glossary of approved terms should be provided, describing exercises conducted - allowing space for written findings and observations of each exercise. Participants should be required to prepare individual standards of stain/pattern documentation for each exercise completed.

1. Preservation of evidence
2. Documentation of evidence by measurement, sketch and properly oriented photograph

The Student should be awarded a Certificate of Completion describing course dates and hours completed, instructor and sponsoring institution. This Certificate (copy) shall be submitted to meet the specified application requirements.

The minimum requirement of this forty (40) hour course must be met, with NO exceptions as an entry for Certification requirement. Various course content and areas of study must be approved by the Board and a Certificate of Completion must be forwarded with application for Certification testing.

Documentation will be required of course outline or equivalents. Acceptance will be required to fit the specified guidelines or be at the discretion of the Certification Board.

A minimum of three (3) years of practice within the discipline of bloodstain Pattern Identification, following the required forty (40) hour training course, must be documented.

1. Dates of training course must be provided.
2. Documentation required for time in discipline may be provided in the following manner:
   1. Transcripts of testimony
   2. Published work
   3. Articles published
   4. Instructional activities (documented)
   5. Case submission/multiple cases
   6. Case reviewed (by Board)
   7. Other analysis (documented)
   8. Other means of establishing time in discipline (to be approved by Board)
3. Documentation provided will be approved by review and at the discretion of the Board

A minimum of 240 hours of instruction in fields of study relating to bloodstain pattern analysis is required. This 240 hour requirement includes the aforementioned 40 hour basic bloodstain pattern analysis course.

Additionally, completion of a 40 hour photography course is also required. A certificate of completion MUST be provided showing successful completion of the 40 hour photography course. A compilation of photography courses relating to crime scene photography totaling 40 hours or a board approved college course in crime scene related photography may also meet this requirement.

• In the absence of 40 hours of photography training/education the board will accept a letter signed by a supervisor relating the training, competency and experience of the applicant in crime scene photography. All certificates relating to photography training described in this letter must be included with the application.

Fields of study/courses qualifying for the remaining 160 hours of required training are:

• Crime scene investigation technology.
• Evidence recovery.
• Blood detection techniques/presumptives.
• Medico legal death investigation.
• Forensic science and technology.

The balance of the course hours required MUST also have some type of certificate of completion. Courses without certificates offered to meet the aforementioned training requirements will be evaluated by the Board.

Additional courses may be approved by the board on an individual basis. Documentation must be provided. Or:

• Elective credit may be earned through research, published work, submission of a case investigative report worked by the applicant or transcript of testimony. Or:
• Elective credit will be considered on an individual basis at the discretion of the Board. Or:
• Applicant may apply credit for being certified as a Senior Crime Scene Analyst through the IAI.
• Documentation of the instruction of courses fitting the prescribed outline or hours of documented instruction may be substituted upon approval of the Board. Documentation must be submitted to the Board for their review and approval
• However, the applicant MUST still meet the minimum requirements for a forty (40) hour Bloodstain Pattern Analysis Course and a (40) photography course, as well as the additional training and time in discipline requirements.

NEW TEST NOTICE

As of August 5th, 2011 the IAI Bloodstain Pattern Examiner Certification Board will initiate an updated test with the below listed study references. Effective of August 5th, 2011, the current study references will no longer be used:

1. Principles of Bloodstain Pattern Analysis: Theory and Practice, S.H. James, P.E. Kish, T.P. Sutton; CRC Press; 2005.
2. Practical Crime Scene Analysis and Reconstruction, R. Gardner and T. Bevel; CRC Press; 2009.
3. Handbook of Forensic Pathology, 2nd Ed., V.J.DiMaio and S.E. Dana; CRC Press; 2006.
4. SWGSTAIN Recommended Terminology, www.fbi.gov/hq/lab/fsc/current/standards/2009_04_standards01.htm

** NOTE ** Terminology for the updated test will come from the SWGSTAIN Recommended Terminology listed above.

CURRENT STUDY REFERENCES

The written examination for Bloodstain Pattern Examiner Certification is divided into two sections and will include, but not be limited to:

• Bloodstain pattern analysis terminology.
• A holistic approach to:
  • Documentation, photography, illustration and sketching of bloodstains and bloodstain patterns.
  • Wound pathology.
  • Investigative procedures.
  • Crime Scene processing.
• History of bloodstain pattern analysis.
• Bloodstain pattern analysis theory and logic.
• Mathematics (Basic understanding pertaining to discipline applications).
• Stain and stain pattern recognition (Characteristics and visual recognition).

A minimum score of 75% is required to pass the Bloodstain Pattern Examiner certification examination.

The study references for the Bloodstain Pattern Examiner test are as follows:

• Bevel, T. and Gardner, R.M., (1997). Bloodstain Pattern Analysis: With an Introduction to Crime Scene Reconstruction, 1st or 2nd Ed., CRC Press.
  • Study complete text.
• DiMaio, D.J. and DiMaio, V.J., (1989). Forensic Pathology, CRC Press.
  • Study chapters 4, 6, 7 and the Appendix.
• Safferstein, R., (1998). Criminalistics: An Introduction to Forensic Science, 6th Ed., Simon and Schuster.
  • Study chapters 2 and 12.