Insights

Well it has certainly been a long time since I have blogged. I am hopeful that this latest effort is a turning point towards greater frequency of blogging. However I have always believed there is little point to send things into the blogosphere unless they serve some purpose. In this case we have a big announcement to make.

Check our latest career opportunity for an Investigations Intern click here

Check out the latest edition of FactFinders. In this edition we discuss the value and necessity of a proper process for managing evidence in all investigations. Click here to be directed to the newsletter. 

This month I have donated my upper lip for men's health and the fight against prostate cancer. Traditionally men don't look after their helth needs until it is too late. The reasons for this are numerous and complex but is primarily due to a lack of awareness of the health issues men face. This can largely be attributed to the reluctance of men to openly discuss the subject and the old ‘it’ll be alright’ attitude.

Once again our team has attended the annual educational conference for the Council on Licensure Enforcement and Regulation (CLEAR). Every year over 400 regulatory professionals gather at this conference to exchange ideas and learn from one another's experience and innovations. We are proud to be presenting our ideas and experiences in dealing with fraud related issues by regulated professionals and illegal practitioners.

Following an extensive procurement process in response to a request for proposals by the Ontario government, Benard + Associates was selected as a qualified vendor for the provision of workplace discrimination and harassment investigations. We are proud to be among the few successful candidates and look forward to working with the program.   

I just posted another video to our home page. It is a presentation I provided in Chicago last May to a group of lawyers and investigators from the National Council of State Boards of Nursing. It was my great privilege to speak to this group. A video doesn't replace the real thing but I decided to add it to our website to give people the opportunity to see some of our educational work.   

Have you ever wondered how some of the advances in forensic technology have come about? When fingerprints were used for the first time to convict a person of a crime or who invented the polygraph machine (lie detectors)? Check out this article titled The Forensics hall of Fame: 10 Forensic Scientists Who Made History. This is an interesting read and contains some links and other information that may be of interest. Click here for the article.

There has been a lot of press lately about private investigators in relation to the downfall of the tabloid News of The World. This event has shed light on many unscrupulous and criminal acts alleged to have been perpetrated by senior officials of the News of The World, members of various police organizations and private investigators. The news of this case has led to calls for more stringent regulation of private investigators as well as greater accountability to privacy laws.

Recently I was asked to comment for an article being written for the Law Times. The subject is important to me so I agreed to participate. I was pleased with the fact that my comments were considered appropriate for a larger article and the quote of the week. However there were a few things that require clarification. The conference I spoke at in Chicago was an attorney / investigator conference for a regulatory council in the United States.