This may very well be your first introduction to the wonderful, exciting, challenging, stimulating and sometimes dangerous world of Forensic Science. As a graduate of our full-time Forensic Accident Investigation and Reconstruction course, you will be in a position to apply for employment within IBF Investigations, in the insurance industry, with the South African or foreign Police Services, Automotive and transport sectors or with private investigative firms, or even to open your own practice.

For the first time, IBF Investigations is offering an opportunity for approved students¹ to not only learn in a classroom, but to actually work on real, current cases, to examine real accident-damaged vehicles in the field and in a laboratory environment, to attend and investigate actual accident crime scenes, to write investigative reports and statements and even to testify in court – all while having the opportunity to earn some money² as a Forensic Investigator almost immediately after starting on the course! For the first time, students will not only attend classes, but also work in IBF Investigations’ laboratory on real accident vehicles. They will be deployed on Accident Response Vehicles³ and attend live accident scenes, acquiring vital experience in the actual at-scene accident investigation and reconstruction field. Students will get to do everything real-life Forensic Accident Investigators do, and even get paid for it²! As part of their on-going education, students will complete several practical tasks and contribute to national research projects – all while learning “on the job,” where the cases are real, the work is dirty, the blood is red and the courts are open. This is as real as it gets. And you could get paid for learning²!

Nowhere else will students get this much exposure, to this many aspects of real-life forensic work, in this environment again. This has never before been done. It might one day no longer be available. But for now – students can learn from the best, work actively and practically on some of the biggest cases in the country, get real practical experience, produce reports for real court cases, actually testify in court and all the while have numerous opportunities to earn actual money² as Forensic Investigators.

Enroll now to avoid disappointment. Only twenty student seats are available, and several have been filled alrady. Courses start in early 2008.

Fax: 086 610-4148, Cell 073 674-9268, e-mail: stan@ibfsa.com

¹ Police Clearance Certificate required before enrolment. ² Credited against fees. ³ Students must be over 18 and have a valid driver’s license.

COURSE DETAILS AND SUBJECTS

As a full-time student, you will not only learn the theory of Forensic Investigation. You will be exposed to real cases, real matters, real evidence and real post mortems. You will do real vehicle examinations and possibly become a Response-based Forensic Accident Investigator, going to real accident scenes.

Due to the highly confidential, extremely graphic and potentially dangerous nature of our work, you will be required to sign a contract of confidentiality and a waiver form, or have your parents sign on their behalf, after producing a valid Police Clearance Certificate. Since we work on real-life cases – often relating to on-going criminal matters – we cannot take chances. You will be of excellent character, be above reprieve, act within the ambits of law, maintain confidentiality, respect victims and potentially drive response vehicles to real accident scenes. Through your integrity, this program will be a success.

As a student of the IBF Investigations South African Academy of Forensic Technology, you will be exposed to a wide array of material that will place strain on you intellectually, physically and emotionally. As a Forensic Investigator you might need to know, understand, remember and refer to a vast amount of theoretical data while you may be required to operate in dangerous environments or restrain combative patients, all while watching victims succumb to their injuries.

This is not a game. The field of Forensic Investigation is peppered with unexpected and unforeseen twists, turns, challenges, emotional struggles and surprising temptations. This field is not for the faint-hearted, for the ill-tempered, the unrestrained or those with ulterior intentions.

While you are on the course, your activities will be divided as follows:

Theoretical class-room work

During your classroom time, you will be taught the various theoretical elements of Forensic Work. Topics covered will include First Aid, Law, the Handling of Evidence, Vehicle Safety Systems, Brake Systems, Tyres, Lights and Physics. You will learn about the processes of evidence collection, the history of Forensics, court processes and the reconstruction process. Photography and advanced measurement technologies are also covered in depth.

Your studies will then extend into specialized computer software packages like Vista Fx, CrashMath, Hawkeye, PhotoModeler, GMax, and others. You will learn how to draw accurate scale scene drawings, how to place and scale vehicles and other involved elements. You will then learn how to calculate the dynamics of vehicles and other involved parties, how to establish human perception reaction cycles, and ultimately animate them all. By understanding the various technologies available to Forensic Investigators, you will be able to quickly, accurately, and easily identify flaws in the reports produced by other experts. You will amass all the knowledge you require to become an ace investigator.

Practical Laboratory work

Any theoretical course would be wasted if you had no opportunity to express your knowledge in a controlled practical environment. Trying to learn at night, in the rain, where there are challenges of time is also not ideal. So, by introducing the Laboratory as a learning environment, you will examine and interpret many elements of vehicle damage, vehicle safety systems and components, air-bags, seat-belts and even lights without the pressure of time, while an instructor is always close at hand to assist, guide, direct, educate and support.

In the laboratory, you will measure damage (crush) on motor vehicles, minibuses, trucks, buses and other components. You will learn how to remove components for examination, how to catalogue and photograph the analytical process and how to physically handle components without contaminating evidence. From here, you will practically examine seat-belts, air-bags, light-bulbs, tyres and other components in real-time from real vehicles relating to real cases.

Tasks and Special Projects

In stead of tying you up in a class-room between four walls for nine months, there will be field-work to be done. You will receive regular tasks to complete, including reports regarding your investigative efforts, completing statements, attending actual court-rooms, compiling drawings, building computer graphic models, creating animations and even completing investigations.

These tasks will form the basis of your successful qualification and will be scored against your total course exam point. These tasks will see you working on your own or in small groups, on real cases and for real cases, completing various investigative tasks, tracing vehicles, photographing evidence, measuring accident scenes, recording deposition style statements and/or interpreting other expert reports.

Research

Since our efforts to make South Africa a better place and to inform and educate the court system on an on-going basis, our on-going research forms a vital part of Forensic Investigation. By researching tyres, lights, vehicles, laws, acts, court processes, intersection, traffic patterns, vehicle use patterns and many other elements of relevance, you will not only build your knowledge base, but also learn to understand the often un-touched elements of accident investigation and the ultimate goal: reconstruction. You will find this component to represent the most repetitive, the least challenging and possible the most boring, but without your contribution, the courts, our Reconstructionists and in future, you yourself, will not be able to tap into the most vital elements of Forensic Science you will ever need: research material. These assist in establishing facts quickly, referring to research to strengthen your testimony, or replacing the need for extensive and unnecessary field-work. The research you will do will one day become the fundamental building blocks of Forensic Science in Accident Reconstruction.

Accident Response

Through special projects and client contracts, IBF Investigations is responsible for the at-scene investigation of various accidents – especially commercial and fatal ones. In order to remain at the cutting edge of our industry, we are often required to analyze, examine, photograph and catalogue accident scenes where they occurred. This program will put you in a position, after some initial training, to actually operate an emergency vehicle, to rush to the scene of an accident, to handle the scene and record all the evidence, to assist injured parties, to interact personally with numerous emergency services and to do so in record time. This is where we separate the boys from the men, or the women from the girls! This is where the adrenalin really rushes, where things can go wrong rapidly, where crimes can be foiled and where lives are lost. This is what you’ve been working towards! This is where you will build up the real-life experience and the credibility you need to become a functional Forensic Investigator.

Special Skills

Being a Forensic Investigator involves much more than photographs and notes. When you approach a new accident scene things can easily go very wrong very quickly. Unknowingly, you might stumble directly onto a crime scene. Bank robbers, car thieves, drunken drivers, child kidnappers, married men with prostitutes. All these people have reason not to want to stick around when you arrive, to hinder your investigative efforts or even to prevent you from recording your evidence. If you are not skilled at approaching an accident scene with a tactical advantage, if you do not know what signs to look for to identify crimes or criminals or if you do not know how to protect yourself, you could find yourself in grave danger.

As a Specialist 24-Hour At-scene Forensic Accident Investigation entity with experience at over 7,000 accident scenes, we understand the dangers very well. From our experience, we are able to teach you not only the theory and practice of the actual task of accident investigation and reconstruction. We also endow you with that very elusive yet vital skill that cannot be learned anywhere else: street smarts!

Exams

At the IBF Investigations South African Academy of Forensic Technology, we believe in evaluating your work, rather than your short-term memory. Although there will be a test at the end of the course, you will be evaluated on an on-going basis on various elements of the expertise you amassed during your training with us. This will include the quality of your tasks and research work, your ability to grasp topics and concepts in class, your ability to physically examine vehicles in the Laboratory and your ability to work as a field investigator.

This is the best course available anywhere. This is the best opportunity you will ever get. This is the beginning of a very exciting and stimulating way of life. Forensics is not just a job – it is a way of life.

Now that we have our own premises and with our laboratory being completed as you are reading this, there are many exciting developments in terms of training. So, please look at the following list of courses that will be presented during the remainder of 2007.

After many requests for further information and literally hundreds of the same questiosn, we also decided to add a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section at the end of this page. We trust this information will assist you in your decision to explore a career int eh exciting and interesting field of Forensics...

Without further ado - these are the courses that will be offered during 2007:

Introduction to Accident Scene Awareness

For the first-time student, we offer a 2-day or 4-evening introduction designed to prepare him/her for the first forays into the exciting world of Forensic Accident Investigation, Reconstruction and Animation. The Introduction to Forensic Accident Scene Investigation course is designed in a way that will prepare students with no prior accident investigation experience for the interesting and challenging world they are about to enter. Students will be able to attend accident scenes and interact with emergency services with a proper understanding for their roles and functions. Without this basic understanding of the protocols and functions of all role-players, students may enter a very onerous and dangerous environment at their own risk.

Upon completion, attendees receive various reference materials, electronic documents, further reading materials, legal resources and example case animations. These can and will be applied in future courses, so self-study is highly recommended.

Forensic At-scene Accident Investigation, Module I and II

Upon completion of their basic introduction course students will be ready to start addressing specifics in the Forensic At-scene Accident Scene Investigation course. Module I runs over a period of one week (day-time) or two weeks (evening classes), while students will be exposed to more in-depth subjects and skills. This is not a no-brainer! The intense and fast-paced course is specifically designed to introduce students to the extremely dynamic and high-pressure world of At-scene Investigations. This is the most important course of them all, and students will not be allowed to continue unless they pass this initial At-scene Investigation course.

The second module is a one-week day-time or two-week evening course is where things start becoming very interesting. Having established a base-line of knowledge and having been empowered with a sound understanding of the what, where, when, why and who of Accident Investigation, the time has come for students to start working on actual cases, and covering specific topics and issues. On this course, students will get deeper into the “mechanics” and “dynamics” of accident investigation. Many example and practical cases will be worked on. This is where the student starts to apply the skills and expertise he/she has acquired in the past. This is the only course in South Africa that offers practical experience to students, where they work on live cases, with references.

As part of their course package, students receive lecture materials, reference sources and some personal software for future application. Students must be remindesd that the materials given to them will form the basis of future studies and should be perused with vigor!

Pricing

R 2,000.00 for Introduction to Forensic Awareness (Day-time)

R 2,500.00 for Introduction to Forensic Awareness (Night Time)

The Above courses are designed specifically to enable students to enter the field of Forensics, to get to understand the ground-rules and dynamics contained therein and to finally start applying their skills. Now, students who wish to attend both these courses in succession should know that there are discount benefits. Please e-mail us for more info.

Schedule

Courses for 2007 are scheduled as follows: