It is my honor and privilege to serve as The President of the IAFC, having been elected earlier this year (2019). My association with Dr. Brent Turvey, and other prominent members of the association, goes back more than 20 years. Together, we have made great strides in the pursuit of science and justice, especially over this past decade. It is my sincere hope that we make even greater progress in the future - by continuing our pursuit of robust publications and professional certification.

 

Our fellow professionals, and their students, are the backbone of this great organization. They give us our strength and make possible the future. In recognizing this, I ask all of you to think about your level of participation, and think about how we can make this organization something more than just a designation or a line on your professional resume or CV.  

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We are always in search of new ideas, new blood, and a better way of doing things. These things must come from the membership. This includes our new members, who are perhaps young to their professions and interested in making an impact. We want to provide that opportunity.

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In that spirit I would like to announce some goals that we have for the organization in the upcoming year.

 

1. Membership: We would like to double our membership this year. If each one of you would recruit one quality member this could be accomplished quite easily.​

 

2. A Quarterly News Letter: We are in need of much greater participation from the membership. This is a fast and sure way to get published in a peer reviewed professional publication. It is our goal to make this a true bilingual publication (English / Spanish).

 

3. Membership Handbook: The IAFC will be putting together a digital membership handbook book, to include current member contact information, areas of expertise, and our code of ethics. It will be available online and in pdf format.

 

4. Awards: The IAFC Board will form a committee of senior members who will consider nominations for best publication of the year, and nominations for Investigative excellence in a specific field such as forensics and \ or investigative excellence in a specific case. We will send out specifics at a later date.

 

In closing I would just like to add that, as always, the IAFC stands ready to serve our membership and assist you in obtaining your goals as a criminal justice professional. This is the last time that I will serve as a president in any professional organization. I have done so on three previous occasions, and in the many years of my involvement in these groups I have learned one really important lesson: it is the effort you put into the group that is most rewarding. I am hopeful that my efforts will assist all of you into developing to  a higher standard of professional excellence of whah we can all be proud.

 

With warmest professional regards to all,

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Paul J. Ciolino

President, IAFC

Chicago, Illinois, USA