CERTIFICATION OF JUDGES
LICENSED
JUDGE STATUS FOR ACCREDITED JUDGES from the following Organizations:
EPCA
(Eastern Police Canine Association), USPCA (United States Police Canine
Assoc.), NAPWDA (North American Police Work Dog Assoc.) or any other similar
organization(s) approved by the PPCA Board of Directors.
[JK1]Applicant must become a member of the PPCA,
must have held judging credentials a minimum of five (5) years from a nationally
recognized Canine Organization listed above, and must submit a resume to the
PPCA Board of Directors. Applicant must then meet with the Board for an
interview. Upon acceptance by the Board, he/she must then apprentice one
certification at a PPCA sanctioned event. After review of the applicants score
sheets, the Board shall either approve or disapprove the individuals Judging
Credentials within sixty (60) days of receiving same.
REQUIREMENTS
FOR MAINTAINING JUDGING CREDENTIALS FOR ALL LICENSED PPCA JUDGES:[JK2]
Must
attend a minimum of three meetings per year, one of those meetings being that
immediately preceding the Certification he/she is to judge (due diligence to be
exercised) or in the event the judge is not present at this meeting, he/she
must meet with the Board of Directors or members of the Trial Committee one day
before the scheduled certification.
A
LICENSED JUDGE IS ONE THAT HAS:
Completed
the Apprentice Judge Program and receives a majority vote of acceptance to be
qualified and certified as a Licensed Judge under this organization, and has
maintained his/her status as described above.
APPRENTICE
JUDGE PROGRAM [JK3]
A. In order to qualify, the applicant must have
attended twelve (12) General Meetings within the previous eighteen (18) months.
He/she must submit a letter of intent along with a resume to the Board of
Directors stating their intent to enter the Apprentice Judge Program. Applicant
will then be interviewed privately by the Board of Directors, and must be voted
on and approved by a majority of same. He/she must personally handled and/or
trained two (2) or more dogs in the following areas at previous PPCA
Certification events and meet the following criteria for each area of interest
Patrol Dog Judge
Must
be an active or retired Law Enforcement Officer or trainer of same and have
handled or trained two (2) or more dogs that have certified with the PPCA in at
least five(5) of the following eight (8) areas:
Obedience,
Agility, Man Tracking, Evidence Tracking, Building Search, Open Area Search,
Article Search and Protection.
Narcotics
Detection Judge
Must
be an active or retired Law Enforcement Officer or trainer of same and have handled
two (2) or more dogs that have certified with the PPCA in Narcotics Detection.
Explosives/Bomb
Detection Judge
Must
be an active or retired Law Enforcement Officer or trainer of same and have handled
or trained two or more dogs that have certified with the PPCA in
Explosives/Bomb Detection.
Search
and Rescue Judge
Must
have handled or trained two (2) dogs that have certified with the PPCA or other
organizations with similar criteria/standards approved by the Board of the
PPCA.
(This category is open to civilian members)
An
Apprentice Judge shall be responsible for judging fairly and honestly and
independently of all other Judges or Apprentice Judges.
B. He/she must judge a minimum of three (3)
certification events. After each event the apprentice must present his score
sheets to the Board with a written separate page in essay form explaining
deductions and overall performance of the dog and handler within thirty (30)
days of the certification. The Board will examine this report and he/she must
receive a majority vote of the Board for acceptance.
C. During the course of the apprentice
judgeship assignment, he/she must judge at least one (1) dog and handler for
each of the below; pass or fail:
For Patrol Dog Judge:
1. Obedience
2. Protection
3. Building Search
4. Open Area Search
5. Article Search
6. Evidence Tracking
7. Man Tracking
8. Agility
For Narcotics Detection Judge:
All Phases offered in Narcotics Detection
For Explosives/Bomb Detection
Judge:
All Phases offered in Explosives/Bomb
Detection
For Search and Rescue Judge:
D. An Apprentice Judge is one that has:
Submitted
in writing his/her desire and qualifications to enter the Apprentice Judge
Program.
Has
met all the requirements of entry into the Apprentice Judge Program
Has
received a majority vote to be accepted into the Apprentice Judging program.
Such a vote, if in favor of the candidate, certifies the candidate as an
Apprentice Judge under the PPCA.
A. Certification Events may be judged by a licensed judge or by three (3) Apprentice Judges.
1. Apprentice judges will be picked by the
board at a private lottery.
2. If you were drawn, you must remove your name
for the following Certification so each person (Apprentice Judge) gets a
chance.
B. In the case where a Licensed Judge is judging the event, his/her score shall be final The scores of the apprentice judges shall not be submitted as event scores except as required for the Apprentice Judge Program.
C. In the absence of the licensed judge, the
certification and/or trial shall be judged in the following manner:
1. Three apprentice judges are required to hold
the certifications.
2. If two of the three apprentice judges give a
team a passing score, the team shall pass.
D. Any participant in a certification event who feels he/she has not been fairly judged by either a licensed judge or an apprentice judge(s) may file a written grievance to the Board.
1. Grievance must be submitted in writing by the end of the certification event and given to the Trial Secretary.
2.
The PPCA shall
provide the correct form, which shall be available from the Trial Secretary.
E. The Board, upon receipt of the written grievance, shall investigate said grievance. If, in the opinion of the Board, there is evidence to support the grievance, the Board shall take whatever action it deems necessary for the particular situation and reply to the grievance in writing within 45 days of receipt.
The purpose of the “Certified Trainer” and
“Certified Master Trainer” accreditation is to add credibility to the PPCA.
These certifications and positions in the organization along with the following
rules, regulations and guidelines were voted on and approved at a meeting of
the Board of Directors and approved at the general membership meeting on
December 20, 1999. [JK4]
1.
. Applicant
must be a member in good standing of the PPCA for a minimum of one (1) year and have attended a minimum of two (2)
general membership meetings within the previous twelve (12) months.
2.
In order to
apply for the status of Certified Master Trainer, applicant must first have
been accredited as a PPCA Certified Trainer for a minimum of three (3) years.
The applicant for Certified Master Trainer Accreditation must also:
A. Be a full-time law enforcement officer
who is either his/her departments Canine Trainer or a handler for a minimum of
three (3) years: or
B. Is a
retired law enforcement officer and the departments’ canine Trainer or
administrator or
handler for at least three (3) years: or
C.
Was a law enforcement canine officer/handler or Administrator serving as
his/her
departments canine trainer for at least
three (3) years.
3.
Any applicant
for the position of Certified Trainer or Certified Master Trainer must exhibit
a canine before the Accreditation Committee and demonstrate all phases of
training he or she is applying for. The Accreditation Committee shall consist
of at least two (2) Certified Master Trainers)
4.
All dogs must
be trained to the testing standards of the PPCA.
5.
Certified Trainer
and Certified Master Trainer standards must meet all local and regional
requirements, and must conform with all performance standards set forth by the
PPCA.
6.
All applicants
(certified Trainer and Certified Master Trainer) must be capable and experienced
in training for any and all phases of the Police Service dog to include
completely training at least three (3) canine teams which were certified
through a PPCA certified judge.
7.
All applicants
must present a letter of recommendation from at least one (1) PPCA Certified
Master Trainer; that letter shall include:
A.
List any
certifications that you, the Certified Master Trainer have witnessed that have
been trained by the applicant.
B.
Report the
appropriate number of hours that you have personally worked with the applicant
in pertinent areas.
C.
Your (the
Certified Master Trainers) personal knowledge of the applicant’s participation
in PPCA functions.
D.
Any other
relative information you (the Certified Master Trainer) may have concerning the
applicant.
8.
The accreditation
committee shall review all applicants’ resumes’ and training curriculum, as
well as the training history. The committee shall then (within 90 days) of
receipt of said application and supporting documents, schedule an interview to
be conducted by the accreditation committee. Applicant will then be notified of
his/her approval or disapproval within thirty (30) days as to their status.
9.
Said
accreditation may be revoked or suspended for “just cause” as deemed by the
accreditation committee after a full investigation regarding any formal or
informal complaints received in writing by said committee.
10.
Accreditation
of Certified Trainer or Certified Master Trainer will remain valid as long as
he/she remains an active member of the PPCA in good standing and attends a
minimum of two (2) general membership meetings within each calendar year.