UDAF Inspectors Attend Investigators' School to Hone Skills

Some of the country's top criminal and civil investigators shared their tricks of the trade before nearly 80 agriculture investigators and inspectors from nine Western states during a four-day training and certification session sponsored by the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food's Division of Plant Industry.

The National Certified Investigator/Inspector Training, which is a program of the Council on Licensure, Enforcement and Regulation (CLEAR) is intended to upgrade the skills needed to make successful cases against suspected violators. The CLEAR training session covered topics such as: principles of administrative law and the regulatory process, investigative process, principles of evidence and evidence collecting, interviewing techniques and report writing.

Pesticide Program Supervisor for the Division of Plant Industry, Clark Burgess, coordinated the training session and said "We are trying to raise our level of performance by becoming more efficient and effective."

The division has brought 13 pesticide related cases to hearings in the past year, many of which resulted in disciplinary action and fines against pesticide applicators. Burgess says, "Considering the growth in pesticide use in Utah, our investigators need to streamline their investigative work."

Twenty five UDAF inspectors or investigators attended the session. Following the CLEAR training participants underwent extensive testing to earn certification status.

This program began in 1984, with approximately 1,000 individuals participating each year. CLEAR holds training sessions about once a month. The next sessions will be held in Sacramento, California in May, Saskatchewan, Canada in June and in Denver, Colorado in September.

Contact Adam Parfitt, CLEAR Program Coordinator, for more information at (606) 269-1701.

Posted March 24, 1998