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IBF in a Nutshell...
IBF and social responsibility
2010

At the beginning of 2010, IBF Investigations designed a new, more interactive web-site. This enabled us to react to the hundreds of requests we received over the years. It seems people were very interested in what we do, how we do it, why we do it and where. The new look was inspired by simplicity and efficiency. In our industry there is a lot of opportunity for flashiness, and we wanted our web-site to attract visitors to its content - not its brightness or "punk value." We hope our visitors enjoy our site, and welcome any feedback offered.

2009

This year ended in tragedy as one of our long-time supporters and volunteers - Michael Smith - passed away as the result of a very sad accident. Michael will most definitely have left a huge hole in our hearts and minds and our thoughts go out to his wife and son, Sheryl and Ashley. R.I.P. dear friend and colleague.

This is also the year that we bought our own vehicle - as opposed to full sponsorship. In spite of this, Auto Atlantic BMW supported us with a fantastic offer, exceptional service and continued support for our efforts. Thanks to the efforts of the team at Auto Atlantic BMW, we are now permanently mobilized and will never be plagued by sponsorship woes again.

2009 Was a year of travels. We found ourselves called to "foreign shores" on numerous occasions and we were very fortunate to visit exotic countries like Oman in the Middle East and Gothenburg, Sweden. We were also called to work in Lesotho and Namibia - albeit not for the first time.

The RTMC (Road Traffic Management Corporation) also held the Third International Crash Conference in Cape Town. IBF was on the planning committee and presented numerous papers at the conference.

Stan Bezuidenhout also decided to meet with the management and support the efforts of Justice Project South Africa. Appointed as Chairman of the Western Cape, Stan introduced JPSA to Adv. Johan Jonck of the Arrive Alive Web site, and together a number of innovative projects were launched.

We still support the efforts of JPSA and the Arrive Alive Web site. Their efforts are exactly what South Africa needs.

We also enhanced our technical capacity when we acquired a Stereoscopic Dissecting Microscope for Light Bulb and Tachograph Analysis. This enabled us to analyze accidents to a microscopic as opposed to a macroscopic level. This also established our abilities in this field. A step we are very proud of.

In this year, we also decided to start collecting the necessary equipment and started planning for the filming of our DVD Training Series - coming in 2010. We acquired a professional Video Camera and additional equipment, video editing facilities, etc.

Since we work in the field of Forensics and since our work often involves very specialized video- and still photography (at night, over long distances or under diverse conditions), we acquired some long-range (500mm and 1000mm) lenses, ultra-compact HD Video Cameras and additional digital cameras to add to our already-impressive arsenal of technology.

Be sure to visit our galleries to see these beautiful places, pictures and examples.. We always receive positive feedback regarding our content, so we hope visitors are satisfied.

 

Stan Bezuidenhout is a Forensic Collision Homicide Reconstructionist with technical forensic experience at over 7,500 accident scenes locally and abroad. Jackie Smith has the same experience by numbers, but as the "softer one" she has interviewed tens of thousands of accident victims and witnesses for the past ten years. Together, they own a registered Close Corporation - IBF Investigations cc.

IBF Investigations is a 24-hour At-scene Forensic Accident Investigation and Reconstruction Entity. As a typical example, we would be called by a client, and then we would respond "to the scene." We go to the scenes of collisions, while the carnage is still very much a reality - we stand in the blood and debris. In our understanding, there is no road traffic accident that will not potentially end up in court.

Whether people go to court, or not, we will always investigate the scene of an accident as if the involved parties will end up there. We gather "all the evidence" every time. On many scenes, we have taken as many as over 1,000 photographs before being satisfied with our record of the scene. After this, we would typically record all the versions of all witnesses, involved parties and drivers - in detail.

By using a deposition-style interviewing method, resting heavily on psychological truth-verification technologies, we know how to extrapolate all the relevant data every time. We don't just ask people to "tell us a story" and then write that down verbatim.

With the information gathered, we would then compile a final investigation or reconstruction report for submission in legal matters. Often, these reports have been used in trials in civil, municipal, high- and legal court matters. In many of the cases, settlement is reached even before we testify. When the report is completed, the contents cover elements like case details, involved parties, weather and environmental elements, engineering or road design, vehicle mechanics, law enforcement, human factors, speed analysis, light analysis, etc. When we reconstruct an accident, we cover all the elements every time. We leaving nothing to chance. Some has indicated that Occam's Razor should be applied (all unnecessary facts excluded), but we are never in a position to predict what facts will and will not become relevant later.

When we produce our final reports, our clients receive copies of all our photographs and documents on a DVD disk and a printed copy of our report for submission to their insurance, legal representatives or internal systems. We aim to provide a comprehensive report that can address all possible requirements every time.

When we testify in any trial or hearing, we use the latest technologies to display, illustrate, demonstrate or present out findings in lay terms - in terms that the courts can easily understand and interpret. We do not try to see how technical or advanced we can be and we certainly do not try to stamp out our superiority. We stick to the facts, illustrate them effectively, prove them consistently and we never generate assumption-based or untruthful reports or findings. Our integrity and accuracy have become legendary.

At the scene of accidents, we are able to secure the crime scene, identify and isolate evidence, gather the evidence, record (photograph, measure and/or video-record) all the relevant evidence and provide assistance to South African Police Service (SAPS), METRO Police, Traffic and Law Enforcement entities.

Where necessary, we are able to produce highly accurate 3D Models of accident scenes and/or vehicles using anything from 3D Animation Software to Photogrammetry and even 3D Laser Measurements. We prefer to bring the scene of a collision to court by recording any conceivable aspect, considering every possible element of possible contribution, and reproducing every scene in as much detail as technically possible. We use the latest technologies available to us and we are constantly innovating additional processes, technologies, techniques and systems to ensure that we gather "all the evidence."

Over the years, IBF Investigations has been committed to providing their services to anyone and everyone - even when they cannot afford it. In our efforts to make sure that every accident scene is investigated properly, we have been providing FREE at-scene investigation services to private individuals for many years.

When we come across or attend an accident (where we are NOT called by a specific client), we will not be expecting any payment for our attendance. When we 'simply arrive,' we expect no involved party to pay us for having been there - we choose to assist.

If we are called by a police or traffic officer and we are available to assist, we would typically not charge that department, division or service for our at-scene assistance.

In doing so, we are trying to ensure that as many accidents are investigated to a high standard, as possible. We try to ensure that the officers that work on the front-line, where the blood and guts is, are able to benefit from our contribution. We understand that - if the case is properly investigated to an expert level - the process of justice can proceed unhindered. Criminals cannot walk free and the innocent cannot be jailed by mistake. This is an enormous responsibility.

As Police Reservists, Stan and Jackie also ensures that their expertise is available to the greater community by committing to police work - where there is also no financial compensation received. As a specialist reservist (Class C), Stan Bezuidenhout is able to employ all the technologies available from IBF Investigations to official police investigations. This enhances the contribution and ensures that justice is delivered without fail.

By joining the efforts of JPSA, Stan has further contributed his expertise, time and resources in support of justice and integrity. We provide all the assistance we can to projects like JPSA and the Arrive Alive Web site, since we want to ensure that our technology, skills, knowledge and expertise do not benefit only on the financial elite.

We are always exploring ways to contribute to various groups, organizations and even to the efforts of the South African Government - all in the interest of justice and fairness. We believe that it would be a very sad day when only 'people with money' could use or benefit from our services.

Over the years, we have trained hundreds of police-, traffic-, METRO Police- and even Medical Rescue officers at NO CHARGE. This is considered to be our contribution to the variety of efforts of those particular groups. We care, we contribute and we enjoy doing so.

When children are involved in accidents, or where we come across accident scenes where people are clearly in need, we will always stop-, contribute- and assist wherever we can. We expect nothing in return from those victims. One shining example of where this FREE assistance was administered was at the well publicized Kloof Neck Bus Accident, wherein a number of small children passed away. We provided an at-scene investigation report directly to the Provincial Department of Transport - at no charge. Such is our commitment to road safety.

If you would like to support our continued efforts and make it possible for us to keep providing free assistance to the needy, we welcome you to contact us and make arrangements towards contributing financially or with products, services or technologies.

(c) IBF Investigations, 2010. This site was developed by Stan Bezuidenhout in January 2010. All rights reserved.