Tenprint Examiner Certification Requirements

Certification Requirements until August 31, 2013

Section 1. REQUIREMENTS FOR CERTIFICATION

  1. General Qualifications
    1. An applicant for certification must be of good moral character, high integrity, good repute, and possess a high ethical and professional standing.
    2. An applicant must sign in the 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.
  2. Technical Requirements
    1. An applicant for certification must have acquired a minimum of forty (40) hours of Board-approved continuing education training/credits in recording, classifying, filing, comparing and searching of ten prints, and
    2. Minimum of forty (40) hours of additional Board-approved continuing education training/credits in ten print related subject matter, and
    3. Must have completed a minimum of sixteen (16) hours of Board-approved training in courtroom testimony.
  3. Basic Experience Requirements
    1. An applicant for certification must have a minimum of two (2) years full-time experience in recording, classifying, filing, and searching ten prints 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.
  4. 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 full-time experience as a ten print examiner for one (1) year of college plus the basic experience as a full-time ten print examiner.
  5. Endorsements
    1. An applicant for certification must submit two letters of endorsements:
      • 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 individual 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 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 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 2 EXAMINATIONS

The applicant shall have 5 hours to complete part I, II, and III of the test. The test comprises the following:

  1. Comparisons

    An applicant shall be required to complete comparison of twenty (20) single impressions to known ten print cards. The applicant must correctly identify a minimum of sixteen (16) of the single ten print impressions with no erroneous identifications. Results are graded as Pass/Fail.

  2. Written Examination
    1. Pattern Recognition and Interpretation. The pattern recognition and interpretation portion comprises the following components with results graded as Pass/Fail:
      • Correctly block five (5) ten print cards using standard Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS) codes;
      • Correctly block five (5) ten print cards using the Henry Classification system;
      • Correctly classify five (5) ten print cards using the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) Classification system.
    2. Questions. The question portion covers 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. Applicants must score 80% to pass this portion of the test. Results are graded as Pass/Fail.
      • Recommended reading material includes: The Science of Fingerprints, U.S. Justice Department (chapters 1-10, 19), Advances in Fingerprint Technology (chapters 1, 8, 9, and 10), 2nd edition, Henry C. Lee and R. E. Gaensslen, Quantitative - Qualitative Friction Ridge Analysis, David R. Ashbaugh (chapters 1-4), and Fingerprint Identification, William Leo
  3. Technical Examination

    The technical examination is intended to ensure that the applicant fully understands and can demonstrate ability to obtain and evaluate ten print records for accuracy and quality.

    • At the time of taking the written portion of the exam, the applicant must submit a ten print record that they personally recorded within the prior ninety (90) days. The applicant’s name and the date the prints were rolled must be recorded on the ten print card.
    • An applicant shall be given five (5) sets of fingerprint cards and shall have to accurately evaluate the records in order to complete this portion of the test. Results are recorded as Pass/Fail.
  4. Case Review

    If on the original application for certification the applicant had indicated having previously testified in a court of law to ten print identifications, the letter of acceptance shall 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.

    The case review shall include:

    • Copy of ten print card from a prior arrest to be examined.
    • Copy of the defendant’s rolled ten print card to be compared.
    • Qualifying questions with answers, to include the introduction and identification of the print.

    5. Documentation of prior testimony shall be one of the following:

  5. Oral Board Testing Procedures

    If, on the original application for certification, the applicant had indicated not having previously testified in a court of law to a ten print identification, the letter of acceptance shall specify that the applicant shall appear before an oral board conducted by the Division Certification Committee to participate in a moot court.

    The Chair of the Division Certification Committee shall be requested to set a date within six (6) months for the oral board test and to advise the applicant and Secretary of the Ten Print Certification Board of the test date.

    The oral board shall be approximately one (1) hour in length and shall include the following:

    • A copy of the ten print card from a prior arrest to be examined.
    • A copy of a new ten print card with the defendant’s rolled impressions to be compared.
    • List of qualifying questions.
    • Original notes, worksheets and report

    6. (The above items shall be prepared and brought to the oral board test by the applicant and shall be a hypothetical case, as opposed to an actual case not yet adjudicated.)

    The Division Certification Committee shall subject the applicant to a mock trial, as would be experienced in a regular court of law with judge, prosecutor, and defense counsel.

    The prosecutor shall conduct qualifying questions with the applicant responding through the evidence testimony. The applicant shall then be cross-examined by the defense.

    The cross examination shall proceed as dictated by the direct testimony and shall include questions on the background of ten print identification, and questions relative to the applicant’s training and experience.

    A videotape recording shall be made of the applicant’s mock trial proceeding and shall include the date, name of the applicant, and names of those participating in the oral board test.

Section III PASS/FAIL REQUIREMENTS

  1. An applicant for certification who does not complete or who fails the test for any other reason other 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 any erroneous identification(s) must wait one (1) year before reapplying to take 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 the complete section of the exam which was incomplete or failed, unless an erroneous identification was made. In the case of an erroneous identification, the entire test must be retaken.

For further information, contact:

Jamie S. Craig
P.O. Box 720805
San Diego, CA 92172-0805