FI skills and knowledge

With the abolition of CRFP there still exists a gap in the acreditation of FI pratitioner's skills. There have also been many examples in Courts of poor procedure and knowledge of experts in the field. As a profession we need to seek some means to ensure good skills and knowledge and to show maintenance of same. The basic training-based foundation has never been good enough due to it's short duration. Practitioner's advanced skills and knowledge has depended upon the individual's seeking of further education and self-learning. The problem is that without a good under-pinning knowledge any subsequent experience gained may often be wasted. I would like to canvas opinion on the following: 1. Should the IFE consider running a specific FI examination other than the current members paper? 2. Should the IFE consider setting up a Register of FI practitioners (similar to the current register of Fire Risk Assessors)? 3. Is there anything else the IFE should consider? IAAI CFI is OK but is not considered particularly desirable or required in the UK and does not test knowledge in great detail. The Forensic Science Society FI diploma is a detailed but expensive option. There are a number of Universities offering courses but there are considerable costs. I am still waiting for the IFE website to host a good quality forum for FI and have now suggested websites for the SIGs rather than these blogs. Without such advances I can see no further significant progress for the group. Our profession needs to comunicate much more widely than at present; This is not even happening between fire services so someone must step up to the mark. The IAAI US forum site was very good but sadly fell into disuse. Other forums and bulletin boards have come and gone. What is the problem? Are we all too busy? None of us are perfect and we all make mistakes but trends are being missed, dogma and missinformation is not being corrected and unsafe cases are going before the courts. Errors are being made accross all the practitioner groups; Police, Fire, Forensic Science and Insurance. I have recently been given an example where a court expert stated that a fire could not make the transition from flaming to smouldering. I have seen a case where the likely connection between two apparent separate seats of fire was not discovered until the trial. I know of another where a lack of comunication between authorities led to a arsonist not being interviewed and thus being undiscovered. The same man comitted a murder 6 months later. Let us discuss this openly now. FI has undoubtedly improved many-fold over the years but it is still fragmented and there are still errors being made. Ask within your own organsation what feedback is there? Are cases debriefed? Is there adequate peer review of cases? Do you work alone all of the time? What was your basic training? What is your continuation training? What CPD is undertaken? Do you have time to do a job to the full National Operating Standards? Please give it thought and please participate. Many thanks.