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JulBy Susanna Speier Denver Private Investigator Blogger Spring and digital forensic investigation is in the air. The annual Professional Private Investigators Association of Colorado (PPIAC) conference takes place July 24th - July 26th at the Antlers Hotel in Colorado Springs this year. The PPIAC annual training event will feature a workshop with Amber Schroader about smart phone and the apps that rule them and an advanced online investigation workshop with Cynthia Hetherington. Perhaps most intriguing to me personally, as I'm putting together my first podcast, is the Sheila Wysocki workshop titled, "Podcasting, the Next Investigative Tool." An added bonus feature of the timing is that the training will overlap with July 24th so the event will kick off with a PI Day (Not to be mistaken for March 14, which is Pi day) celebration. The national holiday takes place annually on the birthday of Eugene Francois Vidocq, the very first Private Investigator who founded the first known detective agency in 1833.  Eugène François Vidocq. Portrait by Marie Gabrielle Coignet You don't need to wait until summer to attend a PPIAC event, though. On Wednesday, June 5th you can attend a PPIAC training on what process service looks like from the attorney's point of view. This unique training opportunity takes place at 6:30 (arrive at 6:00 if you want to arrive in time for networking) at the Hilton Denver Inverness which is located at 200 Inverness Drive West in Englewood. Colorado process servers as well as private investigators and lawyers would have a lot to gain by attending. If, after reading the last two posts, you are eager to delve more deeply into digital forensics, Chris Wells recommends the upcoming LEVA Digital Multimedia Evidence Training Symposium that takes place October 7th through 11th in Denver See also: Colorado digital evidence consultant Chris Wells If you're sure whether or not you/re ready for the deep dive, the University of Colorado Denver College of Arts and Media has a National Center for Media Forensics. It was created, in part, by the Department of Justice including the National Institute of Justice and the Bureau of Justice Assistance and offers training courses as well as a graduate program. As far as summer reading recommendations go, Colorado Public Radio host, Ryan Warner will be doing a live Q&A with Colorado writer Peter Heller at the Avalon Theater on June 20th. They will discuss Heller's new wilderness survival thriller and mystery, The River. The event takes place in Grand Junction and is a great opportunity for private investigators on Colorado's Western slope.  The new Denver Private Investigator Blog Instagram will also be sharing books about investigation and litigation throughout the summer so be sure to subscribe by clicking the Instagram feed and icon on the website. You can also check out the first set of books we recommended by going here.
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 By Susanna Speier Denver Private Investigator Blogger My cat, Kee-hap, would make a great spy. She's adept in picking up communication subtleties and can hear cans and doors opening from anywhere inside the house. She sneaks up stealthily on birds, bugs and sometimes wild rabbits. Her red and orange tiger stripes will blend beautifully with the fall leaves as early autumn rolls through Colorado. Quick to endear herself to strangers Kee-hap has joined me for visits with friends in New York, Boston, Washington, D.C. She behaves well on busses and makes friends easily. She is a great car companion and has joined me on road trips through Arizona, Utah, California and New Mexico as well as in and around Colorado. In fact, Kee-hap has visited Denver, Aurora, Colorado Springs, Grand Junction and Castle Rock. She has yet to experience Boulder, Fort Collins, Steamboat Springs and Aspen but invites are always welcome! It is unlikely that the private investigator and security field will be a viable option for a cat needing to pass the state required juris prudence exam, however, the idea of a feline private investigator is not a new one. In fact there was a government sanctioned program to turn cats into spies in the 1960s.  This summer marked the 70th anniversary of Harry S Truman signing the National Security Act of 1947, which paved the way for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). The agency's plan to turn cats into spies, among other things, was revisited by media for the anniversary and according to Time Magazine's Olivia B. Waxman, the CIA began the "Acoustic Kitty" experiment of trying to trick cats up with espionage gear in the 1960s. The plan was to place to place them in locations where they would gather information.
According to "Spycraft: The Secret History of the CIA's Spytechs from Communism to Al-Qaeda. The Office of Research and Development figured out a way to implant a three-quarter-inch transmitter in the loose, fleshy part at the back of a cat's neck, and a microphone in the cat's ear canal. A very thin, almost invisible wire connected the two devices. The size of the transmitter meant the device could only hold very small batteries and only had space to record a limited amount of audio. (One attempted solution was to give a cat a transmitter in its rib cage and an antenna in its tail, the ex-CIA agent Victor Marchetti claimed in The Wizards of Langley: Inside the CIA's Directorate of Science and Technology.) The experiment fell short when agents got hungry the would wander away from the designated location. As a big part of the appeal was the fact that the would not have to be trained to stay focused once they knew which sounds to identify, the tendency to wander off site proved to be a deal breaker there was no way of communicating the goals and requirements of the mission to them. You can read more about the experience on Time.com and read the primary documents on the study, which were declassified in 2001, here. And if you are looking for a feline team member, Kee-hap is available for assignments, however, she can only be considered for assignments in those states that do not not require PIs be licensed. |
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Highly experienced team of Denver private investigators serving attorneys, businesses, and individuals. Our investigation services include, but are not limited to: process of service, responsible party identification, witness locates and interviews, workplace investigations, competitive intelligence, background investigations, surveillance investigations, fidelity investigations (infidelity), cheating spouses, aerial video, & more. Ross Investigators PC, Inc. proudly offers their PI services to: Arvada, Aurora, Boulder, Broomfield, Castle Rock, Centennial, Cherry Creek, Colorado Springs, Commerce City, Denver, Englewood, Fort Collins, Glendale, Golden, Greenwood Village, Highlands Ranch, Littleton, Longmont, Louisville, Loveland, Morrison, Northglenn, Parker, Pueblo, Superior, Thornton, Washington Park, and all of Colorado.
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