President's Message - Terry Myer, Sr.
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Well it's that time of the year again, when we kick things off at FALI, first leg of the Big Three annual conferences.
It was great to see our old friends again in Cocoa Beach attending FALI's annual conference. We welcomed Rick Root as the new FALI President. The weather was great and as usual another great conference.
I would like to thank Amy O`Rourke for the invite and hospitality. Dean Beers taught a pre-conference class on Wednesday. We have had a good welcome everywhere we go and a lot of that is from our membership family, our new board, and a special thanks to our very supportive sponsors. A big thanks to: The Mechanic Group, Tracers Info, PI Magazine, TownSquare, Yergey Insurance, EmbroidMe , IRB, Office Depot, ParcelDocs, PINow and PI Gear. Also, big special thanks for the guy that always has our back, Keith Nelson, from Lobbyit.
When attending a conference, please visit the NCISS booth and see WHAT`S UP!
Our next stop, CALI conference in Reno, June 8th. Enjoy the summer, be safe, "And see you on down the road"
Respectfully,
Terry Myer, Sr.
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Call to Action - Federal GPS Legislation!
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| On behalf of NCISS, Lobbyit has continued to follow-up with important offices regarding the changes NCISS seeks in the Wyden/Chaffetz GPS bill. A primary focus of NCISS's 2017 Hit the Hill (HTH) advocacy day was the GPS Act. In the Senate, the bill is sponsored by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR). In the House, the bill is championed by Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT).
The GPS Act would make it a criminal offense to track persons and property via electronic means without their consent.
While the GPS Act is not a high-profile bill, its very existence has always given us pause, both because it would be disastrous for private investigators were it to become law, and also because the sponsors come from vastly different ideological perspectives.
Sen. Wyden is considered a reliable man of the left, while Rep. Chaffetz is quite the opposite (of course, these are generalizations, but they do comport with our modern understanding of common partisan identities).
As such, when legislation has sponsors from such distant opposites of the political spectrum, there is good reason to be concerned. We were heartened, therefore, that Chaffetz's office has indicated their willingness to consider legislative language specifically exempting PIs from the prohibitions in the proposed bill.
Senate Judiciary Chair, Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA), also assented to our exclusion. Consequently, Lobbyit surveyed code in the 50 States to look for instances where state legislatures carved out private investigators from GPS bans.
In the process, we identified several states, including Texas, Michigan, North Dakota, and North Carolina which had specific relevant exemptions on the books.
Several NCISS members also helpfully forwarded language.
Ultimately, we concluded that the most direct and effective language mirrored the North Carolina statute. NCISS's proposed exemption, which was provided in April to the appropriate legislative staff, is as follows:
ยง 2602. (i) Exception for Licensed Private Investigators. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, it shall not be unlawful for a private detective or private investigator, licensed or authorized in the state in which they conduct business, and in the normal conduct of their business, to intercept geolocation information pertaining to the location of another, provided that the tracking is not otherwise contrary to law, and the person being tracked is not under the protection of a domestic violence protective order or any other court order that protects against assault, threat, harassment, following, or contact.
Thus far, our proposed language has been well received. We will be working diligently with important Hill offices to ensure that, should any version of the GPA Act receive further consideration, it includes an exemption for our industry!
CALL TO ACTION - Please see NCISS's Advocacy Hub for the letter we have drafted on this topic so you can reach out to your members of Congress and let them know of the importance of this issue!
Please follow the link, then simply fill in your address and ZIP code - the letter, which you can edit and add your contact information / signature block, will appear in a new window and sent directly to your Senators and Representatives.
Please visit -
https://salsa4.salsalabs.com/o/50788/c/148/p/dia/action3/common/public/
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NEW - Members Only Page
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NCISS has recently developed the new Members Only page on the NCISS website.
You will need your username and password - but don't worry, there are reminder links to follow if you have forgotten yours.
Inside you will find, exclusively for members:
- State Legislation Awareness Monitoring (SLAM)
- Benefits of Membership
- Advocacy Hub
- Membership Directory (PDF file)
- Member Contributed Articles
- Listserv Rules and Resources
- Past Presidents
- Awards
This page continues to improve for you and from your contributions!
If you have any articles to contribute, please send the article name and a link to [email protected] for consideration. Please do not send the full article - links only will be posted.
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The NCISS - WAD Connection - by Ed McClain
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42 YEARS OF WORKING TOGETHER FOR INVESTIGATION AND SECURITY SERVICES
The idea for NCISS, the "National Council of Investigation and Security Services", was born in Cincinnati, OH at the Annual Conference of the World Association of Detectives in 1975. WAD Members from twenty-one nations were present. Many of those in attendance were officers of national associations in their own country. A prescient Joe Duncan posed an idea to members asking if there would be interest in exploring the concept of an American national association. Eighteen WAD members met and agreed. Bert Hinds, a Past President of both W.A.D. and NCISS who co-hosted the Cincinnati meeting, eloquently relates that the follow-up meeting of thirty-five concerned Security Service and Investigation Agency owners in Joe's hometown (Nashville, TN) resulted in the formation of NCISS.
Continued on page 12 of WAD's current Beyond Global newsletter at
https://wad.memberclicks.net/assets/Newsletters/issue19.pdf
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Legislative News from Lobbyit - Keith Nelson
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State Legislative Awareness Monitoring (SLAM)
Lobbyit has set up NCISS's "state-level" tracking and continues to identify hundreds of bills in currently active states. Members may view bills impacting private investigators, private patrol operators or security guards in your state, by going to the Advocacy Hub and State Legislation at
www.nciss.org/legislation
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Members can search alphabetically by
state or click on a specific state on the United States
map provided at the top of the page (current example above). If your state is not listed, it means that either your state was either not in session or there were no bills introduced that met our search parameters. If you know of a bill in your state that we need to become aware of, please contact your any NCISS Officer or Director -
www.nciss.org/officers-directors
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To be both effective and current, NCISS and Lobbyit need suggestions for legislative and regulatory keywords to track activities at the state and federal levels. Please contact your Regional Director to provide these keywords.
In the month of May, Lobbyit and NCISS In the month of May, Lobbyit and NCISS explored the environment for Sen. Toomey's Security Officers Screening Improvements Act (SOSIA -- S. 2647, 114th Congress). We discussed prospects for this legislation with Sen. Toomey's office, Sen. Hatch's office, and with counsel for the Senate Judiciary Committee. NCISS will now make the formal request to Sen. Grassley, Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, to include security service applicants on the current Senate version of CPIA.
Read this full monthly Report at
http://conta.cc/2rUpjcs
What does this mean for our professions? Look for an upcoming Advocacy Hub Call to Action soon! Current Advocacy Hub activities are at
https://salsa4.salsalabs.com/o/50788/c/148/p/dia/action3/common/public
For additional information on NCISS legislative activity, please visit
www.nciss.org/important-nciss-news
As always, stay tuned!
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NCISS Member News
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Region 1
Dean Gluth (2nd VP) - InfoMax Investigation (Illinois)
On Tuesday night April 25th, Dean was traveling home to Chicago from Indianapolis after watching his daughter coach a high school softball game. At approximately 10:00pm while driving through a construction zone, Dean's tire got caught in a groove on the road which caused him to lose control of the vehicle. His truck flipped over the guardrail on the side of the highway and rolled into a ditch. The police estimate that his truck rolled at least 10 times down the hill. He was extracted from his totaled vehicle with the jaws of life. He was then taken to the Emergency Room where it was discovered he sustained a broken pelvis, 5 broken ribs, a punctured lung, and a severe concussion. Indiana State Police said that it was a miracle he survived the incident.
Other NCISS members, including Brandy Lord and George Gergis, immediately went to the scene and retrieved all of Dean's ejected personal and business belongings, visited him in the hospital and began to help him in many ways. Of course Dean's family, including his daughters, Kristina and Lindsay Gluth. A GoFundMe page was started by Dean's daughters, with many NCISS and other PIs donating towards his medical bills.
Dean was released from the hospital and returned home on Saturday, April 29th. He continues physical therapy and hopes to return to his sole-practitioner agency and clients soon. In speaking to Dean, he was very humbled and thankful for all the support, calls, emails, visits and kind words -- and all the donations from everyone.
Indiana Society of Private Investigators (INspi)
The Criminal Defense Investigation Training Council came to the Midwest for the first time ever, thanks to INspi President and NCISS board member, Brandy Lord of Integrity Investigations, Inc. May 16th-18th, 2017 the Indiana Society of Professional Investigators (INspi) hosted investigators from all over the US, representing ten different states in South Bend, IN to absorb the knowledge passed along from the nationally recognized Certified Criminal Defense Investigator and NCISS member, Brandon A. Perron, CCDI, CFI-FTER.
Brandon delivered an amazing, upbeat training program and jammed five days of content into just three days! The course covered the Criminal Defense and Due Process Investigation in which the participants were trained in the Component Method of Criminal Defense Investigation and Case Management. There were a vast number of NCISS members in attendance and a few new members were recruited, as well. A special thank you to Carol Ward and Dean Gluth for making sure we had materials for the NCISS booth, to Regional Director Candace Ivey who traveled on the last day to man the NCISS booth, and to all of those that attended the training program.
Region 2
Congratulations to Past President Michael Duffy
50 Years at Per Mar!
From Per Mar...
Our CEO, Michael Duffy, is celebrating his 50th anniversary of full-time employment with Per Mar. If you see him, make sure to congratulate him on this huge milestone in his career.
 To show you where it all began, here is a photo of Michael's "first" badge, which he made himself.
Region 2
 Congratulations to President Terry Myer
Congratulations to NCISS President Terry Myer, who received a proclamation from the Reynoldsburg Mayor Brad McCloud, showing recognition for Terry's professional achievements in the Private Investigation & Security Industry.
Region 4
Florida Association of Licensed Investigators
NCISS President Terry Myer (right) and Board Chairman Dean Beers (left) attended the annual FALI conference in May. FALI donated the table space for NCISS to meet and greet FALI members, and recruit several new members and renewed memberships.
Region 5
Colorado's Department of Regulatory Agencies Announces Dramatic Drop in PI Fees for 2017!
DORA Announcement of May 9th 2017: Effective immediately, the fee being charged for licensure of Private Investigators is being revised to $63 for a one-year renewal, in response to recent and significant license population increases and updated adjustments to fund balance projections. The 2017 renewal fee was set at $263 in response to continuing deficit fund balances with a predicted population of approximately 400. However, between July 2016 and April 2017, considerably more new fee-payers exist for the program, with 645 renewals now expected at the beginning of this cycle, and 817 renewals beginning in next year's cycle (June 2018).
(continued at www.linkedin.com/pulse/dora-announces-dramatic-drop-pi-fees-2017-steve-davis)
How did this happen? PPIAC Board members learned of a $3 increase in the renewal fee from 2016 - although the increase was insignificant, this was despite the total number of licensees almost doubling in 2016. In Colorado, all professional licenses fees are based on the program operating costs and number of licensees - it was anticipated Colorado PIs would see a decrease in renewal fees for 2017. Initially, their inquiries were met with boiler plate responses of the costs and minimal increase in licensees.
Because PPIAC has a strong and positive relationship with DORA, communications continued and it was pointed out the number of licensees almost doubled, and the program costs remain the same. In reviewing this information, the program budget director recommended an immediate decrease in fees and refund to those that renewed at the higher fee. The fee dropped $200 from $263 to $63 - one of the lowest renewal fees nationwide. New applicant license fees remain at $330. This underscores the importance of state associations working for you! NCISS is proud to work with all of our state associations - Two Halves!
Steve Davis (2nd from left), Davis & Associates and Board Chairman of the Professional Private Investigators Association of Colorado, was bestowed the 2017 Everyday Heroes Award by Thomson Reuters / CLEAR.
Thomson Reuters named Steve Davis of Steve Davis and Associates as one of three recipients of its Everyday Hero award for Davis' efforts to locate Hannah Hrabik, a missing 25-year-old woman. The company is making a $10,000 donation in Davis' name to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
Region 6
Chris Reynolds, Regional Director (Chris Reynolds Investigations, CA)
Since becoming a Regional Director, I have been researching the various associations within the region to determine membership numbers, leadership, conference schedules and licensees in each state. Oregon has a conference next month and I am considering attending that event. I will be in contact with each statewide association in the next thirty days to discuss NCISS and how we can promote our organization more effectively.
Beyond CALI, the total number of licensees in the region (all states) total fewer members than CALI. Some states have no associations or they have gone dormant.
The CALI annual conference is early next month in Reno, Nevada and I will make sure NCISS is represented at the booth throughout the event.
Do you have important news about your agency, association, events, etc.? Please share them with your Regional Director for distribution!
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NCISS Mid-Term Meeting - Hosted by PPIAC
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NCISS 2017 Mid-Term Board of Directors Meeting -
Wednesday, Sept. 13th 2017
Meeting to be held at Denver Marriott Westminster
PPIAC Pre-Conference - Thursday, Sept. 14th
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NCISS Member Association Events
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NCISS on Social Media
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Do you want to be featured on the NCISS Facebook page? Please privately email [email protected] the following (in this order and format to be copied and pasted):
- Your agency name, city and state
- Your key areas of specialties and services
- Your contact information - phone and email
- Your website, your agency Facebook page and Twitter
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Are Your 2017 Dues Current?
Are You Over 65, a Member for 10+ Years, and Retired?
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IMPORTANT UPDATE FOR RETIRED / INACTIVE MEMBERS:
A new bylaw was passed at the 2017 Annual Meeting, adding a new category for membership.
Section 3.05 Regular Inactive.
A Regular member who has been a member in good standing for at least ten consecutive years and has reached the age of 65, and retired from their business shall be entitled to waiver of one-half of regular dues commencing with the first renewal period following their sixty-fifth birthday. Regular Inactive members shall have the right to vote.
This has not been updated on the renewal form, please contact Carol Ward if you qualify.
Help grow your Voice in Washington
renew your NCISS membership and refer a friend...
When renewing, please consider a donation to the NCISS Legislative Fund or NCISS PAC.
The following are the current categories of membership:
- Regular Member: $175 -- includes the NCISS Legislative Fund and receives all rights and privileges of membership.
- Inactive / Retired: $87.50 for inactive / retired members over the age of 65 years with at least 10 consecutive years of NCISS membership.
- Affiliate Member: $175 -- Investigative & Security employees of government agencies, law firms, insurance firms or related business.
- Associate Member: $75 -- Unlicensed employee of a Regular Member agency.
NCISS also has memberships for Associations and Services.
Contact your Regional Director if you have any questions or need assistance. Membership and dues information are also at
The National Voice of the Investigative & Security Professions
As a member of NCISS, you know the importance of the NCISS mission.
Please share this with your colleagues and encourage them to be part of the NCISS mission!
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Advertise Your Agency in Your Advocate
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Will you be attending the NCISS Mid-Term Meeting, hosted by PPIAC just before their fall conference? Our meeting is Wednesday, Sept. 13th in Colorado. Look for details at
< Member Your Advocate Sponsors >.
The Conference Committee is seeking your support to help offset the costs, and reduce overall registration fees for all upcoming meetings - which we hope you can attend. You can help - and promote your agency - very inexpensively. This is an opportunity for you to be featured in the next issue of Your Advocate and also at the Mid-Term Meeting and NCISS conference table this September. We will do the same for the 2018 Annual Meeting / Hit the Hill event in March.
Two center pages will be dedicated to member business card sized ads - for a total of 20 spaces, and the same for the conference table display on two 16"x20" poster boards, each with advertising space for eight sponsors at $75 each. These must be ready-made artwork - preferably your business card in JPEG in at least 300dpi for enlargement (any edit needs will be returned or charged $25).
This is a first come, first serve basis - one issue and event, no advance reservations. Presently we can accept payments and reservations for the Summer 2017 Your Advocate and 2017 Mid-Term Meeting only.
Thank you for your NCISS support and membership!
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Vendors and Sponsors of NCISS
Benefits for you, fitting your needs
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NCISS Apparel Store - Now Open!
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NCISS now has a stand-alone store with one of our Vendors & Sponsors, EmbroidMe of Davenport IA
The store is now open at http://nciss.logoshop.com!
NCISS will benefit with a percentage of sales for the NCISS Legislative Fund.
The store will allow you to purchase seasonal apparel with one of two NCISS logos, as well as your own investigative agency or security firm logo, and your state association (as well as other professional associations). All logos can include custom text embroidery. Text with NCISS logos are limited to the member name, their agency, and NCISS position. State (or other acceptable) association logos and accompanying test must be approved by the state or other association. Details will be available on the store website.
Customized apparel is a way to promote your agency and our professions. Be sure and support NCISS and our Vendors & Sponsors.
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| Important News |
NCISS keeps up with federal legislation and regulations impacting the investigative and security professions. To keep members current, all latest newsletters, reports and alerts are linked from this page.
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Your Membership, Your Voice ...
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Refer a colleague to save $25 on their First Year Dues
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The National Council of Investigation and Security Services, Inc., is a cooperative effort of those companies and associations responsible for providing private security and investigation services to the legal profession, business community, government and the public.
It is the role of NCISS to meet and solve these problems while seeking to uncover and recommend action on any hidden potential problems which may have an effect on our profession.
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NCISS Board
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Executive Council
President
Terry Myer, Sr.
1st Vice President
Brad Duffy
2nd Vice President
Dean Gluth
3rd Vice President
Andrea Orozco
Secretary
Francie Koehler
Treasurer
Jim Zimmer
Chair
Dean Beers
Executive Director
Carol Ward
Directors
Region 1
Candace Ivey
Region 2
Open
Region 3
Bob Dunn
Region 4
Mark Gillespie
Region 5
Open
Region 6
Chris Reynolds
Members at Large
Jim Casteel
Brandy Lord
Steve Rambam
Jeff Hammock
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MEMBERS ONLY PAGE
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- State Legislation Awareness Monitoring (SLAM)
- Benefits of Membership
- Advocacy Hub
Membership Directory (PDF file)
- Member Contributed Articles
- Listserv Rules and Resources
- Past Presidents
- Awards
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