Rick Von Geldern, PICA (Professional Investigators of California) Legislative Chair, has recently issued a challenge to the California Association of Licensed Investigators (CALI) to have members of its board of directors reveal their arrest and conviction histories, if any. He knows it’s a ridiculous dare, because as a non-profit mutual benefit corporation we can’t ask members, directors, or officers to allow an invasion of their privacy of that magnitude.
Since I’m a “phenomenologist,” i.e.,adhering to the methodological school of thought within political science that is existentialist, I espouse the belief that what a person chooses to study is in and of itself a form of bias. Therefore, complete objectivity in the social sciences is impossible to achieve even if it’s a nice goal. So my counter dare to Rick Von Geldern is, why stop at arrests and convictions? Let’s run amok with the inquiry and look for any other bad behavior we can find in the private investigative world. Lord knows, everybody and their uncle knows about my skeletons in the closet…..well actually my skeletons are in a drawer at home as a number of my colleagues can attest to.
So, here goes. Some questions that Rick might want to pose with the company he keeps:
1. Which prominent member of PICA was terminated from the LAPD before finishing probation?
2. Which prominent member of PICA has led members of the CALI Board to believe that he was (a) retired from the LAPD after 16-17 years service; (b) retired from a career with first LAPD and then Pasadena Police Department; (c) was actually a school cop in Fontana and Pasadena in spite of his fast and loose representations about his past employment?
3. Which prominent member of PICA was ordered off of duty at a high school campus at the request of other employees?
4. Which prominent member of PICA was involved in a scandal where he thoroughly contradicted the police report of his partner, after acquiescing to it in the first place, when he testified in court?
5. Which prominent member of PICA was terminated after a search warrant was served at his residence and unlawful drugs found in the possession of his room mate (also a peace officer)?
6. Which prominent members of PICA are going to be pissed off at Rick Von Geldern for leading them astray by opening up this whole can of worms?
