CADAVER CERTIFICATION – DEFINED: The demonstration of the Cadaver Recovery Team’s ability to search for, locate and alert to the presence of human cadaver, on land and/or from a moving boat, to the satisfaction of the Certification Official(s). The skills test(s) in land and water cadaver shall be conducted in such a manner as to allow the canine team(s) an opportunity to demonstrate their capability to function in real-time searches. Scenarios shall be made as “real time” as possible.
HANDLER: Must be a law enforcement officer or correctional officer of a federal, state, county or local agency, or approved volunteer associate, AND must have completed 40 hours of LETS training.
CANINE: Must have completed 40 hours of LETS Training with the assigned handler. NOTE: If handler and canine change and are no longer a “team” the certification is null and void.
TEAM: The handler and canine must pass the LETS Basic Obedience Skills Test to the satisfaction of the Certification Official(s). The Certifying Official(s) decision will be final.
ALERT/FINAL TRAINED RESPONSE: The dog’s final trained response to the presence of human cadaver shall be either passive or aggressive. A stand alone bark alert is not accepted. The alert must be a trained response, obvious to the handler and the evaluator and be consistent with the alert predicted by the handler.
NOTE: "Pseudo cadaver" scents shall not be used for certification skills test or in LETS training.
LAND CERTIFICATION: The area(s) shall be of such size as to allow the Canine Team to properly demonstrate their skills, in performing the assigned task. The Certification Official(s) shall select and approve all Land Certification area(s) to be used.
The Certification Official(s) shall establish problems in such a manner as to determine the Canine Team’s ability and understanding of the proper method of searching the area presented to them.
The Canine Team must demonstrate the ability to locate cadaver finds on land within the time period(s) established by the certification official(s) present.
There will be a minimum of three land finds required, with no maximum set. The total amount of finds placed, and worked, will be controlled by available resources, and the constraints of a 40-hour LETS seminar.
Successful completion will require that 80% of all finds tested on be located, and that a false positive rate of more than 10% of the total number of finds worked will result in “non-qualifying.”
Land Certification(s) shall be performed and completed prior to attempting the Water Recovery Certification(s). If the Land Certification portion of certification is not successfully completed the Canine Team will not be allowed to continue to the water portion and no further certification will be given.
Land certification may stand alone as an individual certification, with no requirement for water certification to be completed.
WATER CERTIFICATION: May be done in a lake, a bay, a river, fresh or salt water. The size of the water body shall be large enough to allow the Canine Team to demonstrate their skills in performing the assigned task.
BOATS: All Water Certification shall be done in a boat(s) large enough to allow the boat(s) to be safely operated with the required number of people needed to perform the Water Certification. The Canine Team handler shall approve or disapprove all boat drivers/operators without prejudice. All personnel involved in Water Certification shall wear proper life jackets anytime work is performed on, or near the water. The Certification Official need not be in the boat with the Canine Team being certified.
TIME: "The time allotted for the water certification test will be from 15 to 30 minutes, at the discretion of the certification official, based on the size (body/area of water) available to conduct the test. The times set for a specific location will be the same for all teams attempting the test at the same location, on the same date.
The Certifying Official may stop the certification procedures at any time for safety violations, non-performance of the team, or for any other reason as decided by the Certification official in order to maintain proper standards.
Certification will expire twelve (12) months after completion of Skills Test. This expiration may be extended, (on a case by case basis), provided that a certification skills test is not made available by L.E.T.S. within the twelve (12) month period covered by the certification. An additional certification fee will be required each time a Skills Test is conducted.
It shall be noted that all situations concerning LETS Certification Skills Tests cannot be covered in this policy, due to many locations and testing environments that are involved. However, the Certification Officials appointed by the Board of Regents are highly experienced in conducting such tests. The purpose of the Certification Skills Test is to determine the overall ability of the team in locating human cadaver scent on land and water.
RE-CERTIFICATION - DEFINED: For re-certification of any certified team, within the 12 month period from previous certification, the team shall be required to attend an 8 hour re-certification class that will consist of field-tests to demonstrate the continuing proficiency of the team, to the satisfaction of the certification official(s). Testing may also include written tests to determine the knowledge of the handler in the specific discipline being tested.
A “CADAVER DETECTION CERTIFICATION SHEET” will be completed and marked “re-certification” by the certifying official and processed according to policy.
HANDLER: Must be a law enforcement officer or correctional officer of a federal, state, county or local agency, or approved volunteer associate, AND must have completed 40 hours of LETS training.
CANINE: Must have completed 40 hours of LETS Training with the assigned handler. NOTE: If handler and canine change and are no longer a “team” the certification is null and void.
TEAM: The handler and canine must pass the LETS Basic Obedience Skills Test to the satisfaction of the Certification Official(s). The Certifying Official(s) decision will be final.
ALERT/FINAL TRAINED RESPONSE: The dog’s final trained response to the presence of human cadaver shall be either passive or aggressive. A stand alone bark alert is not accepted. The alert must be a trained response, obvious to the handler and the evaluator and be consistent with the alert predicted by the handler.
NOTE: "Pseudo cadaver" scents shall not be used for certification skills test or in LETS training.
LAND CERTIFICATION: The area(s) shall be of such size as to allow the Canine Team to properly demonstrate their skills, in performing the assigned task. The Certification Official(s) shall select and approve all Land Certification area(s) to be used.
The Certification Official(s) shall establish problems in such a manner as to determine the Canine Team’s ability and understanding of the proper method of searching the area presented to them.
The Canine Team must demonstrate the ability to locate cadaver finds on land within the time period(s) established by the certification official(s) present.
There will be a minimum of three land finds required, with no maximum set. The total amount of finds placed, and worked, will be controlled by available resources, and the constraints of a 40-hour LETS seminar.
Successful completion will require that 80% of all finds tested on be located, and that a false positive rate of more than 10% of the total number of finds worked will result in “non-qualifying.”
Land Certification(s) shall be performed and completed prior to attempting the Water Recovery Certification(s). If the Land Certification portion of certification is not successfully completed the Canine Team will not be allowed to continue to the water portion and no further certification will be given.
Land certification may stand alone as an individual certification, with no requirement for water certification to be completed.
WATER CERTIFICATION: May be done in a lake, a bay, a river, fresh or salt water. The size of the water body shall be large enough to allow the Canine Team to demonstrate their skills in performing the assigned task.
BOATS: All Water Certification shall be done in a boat(s) large enough to allow the boat(s) to be safely operated with the required number of people needed to perform the Water Certification. The Canine Team handler shall approve or disapprove all boat drivers/operators without prejudice. All personnel involved in Water Certification shall wear proper life jackets anytime work is performed on, or near the water. The Certification Official need not be in the boat with the Canine Team being certified.
TIME: "The time allotted for the water certification test will be from 15 to 30 minutes, at the discretion of the certification official, based on the size (body/area of water) available to conduct the test. The times set for a specific location will be the same for all teams attempting the test at the same location, on the same date.
The Certifying Official may stop the certification procedures at any time for safety violations, non-performance of the team, or for any other reason as decided by the Certification official in order to maintain proper standards.
Certification will expire twelve (12) months after completion of Skills Test. This expiration may be extended, (on a case by case basis), provided that a certification skills test is not made available by L.E.T.S. within the twelve (12) month period covered by the certification. An additional certification fee will be required each time a Skills Test is conducted.
It shall be noted that all situations concerning LETS Certification Skills Tests cannot be covered in this policy, due to many locations and testing environments that are involved. However, the Certification Officials appointed by the Board of Regents are highly experienced in conducting such tests. The purpose of the Certification Skills Test is to determine the overall ability of the team in locating human cadaver scent on land and water.
RE-CERTIFICATION - DEFINED: For re-certification of any certified team, within the 12 month period from previous certification, the team shall be required to attend an 8 hour re-certification class that will consist of field-tests to demonstrate the continuing proficiency of the team, to the satisfaction of the certification official(s). Testing may also include written tests to determine the knowledge of the handler in the specific discipline being tested.
A “CADAVER DETECTION CERTIFICATION SHEET” will be completed and marked “re-certification” by the certifying official and processed according to policy.
