UNT sponsors seminars for private investigators

By Alex Calams / Staff Writer –

UNT will participate in the second World Investigators Conference today until Saturday at the Sheraton Hotel at 400 N. Olive St. in Dallas.

The conference features seminars in the private investigation and security industries. It runs until 9 p.m. today, 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and an unspecified time Saturday night.

“Over 1,500 private investigators from 12 countries attended the first WIC in Las Vegas, and we are expecting large numbers once again,” said Jorge Salgado-Reyes of The World Association of Professional Investigators in a prepared statement.

Scott Belshaw of the criminal justice faculty said that UNT’s participation in the conference is especially significant this year because the university will begin a new program designed to teach students how to become private investigators on March 19.

UNT will sponsor the conference to promote the program. It is a highly anticipated topic of interest among conference guests, Belshaw said.

“UNT is the conference’s second-largest sponsor,” he said. “I’ll also be giving three presentations during the course of the weekend.”

“The Role of Education and Training for Private Investigators” is Belshaw’s presentation on behalf of the program and UNT’s Professional Development Institute.

UNT alumna and program co-creator Karen Hewitt said she discovered how essential education is for those within the field when she opened her firm, Hewitt and Cowden Investigations, in 1992.

“About 80 percent of the people who obtain a P.I. license do not renew.” she said. “They are failing because there is no training available to teach someone to be a private investigator. Had it not been for the generous mentoring from some very experienced P.I. friends that I made shortly after opening my business, I would have been a statistic, too.”

Attendees to the three-day seminar will have a multitude of seminars to choose from, Salgado-Reyes said.

“Investigators will also have the opportunity to attend any of 35 training classes on a myriad of topics and take advantage of the latest products and services featured in the 20,000-square-foot vendor room with more than 70-plus booths,” he said in a prepared statement.

“Knowing Where the Line Is: Legal & Ethical Issues for Private Investigators” is one of the topics that will be presented this weekend by Belshaw with Houston-based attorney Clyde Burleson.

John Walsh, host of the television show “America’s Most Wanted,” and Jules Kroll, founder of the detective agency, J. Kroll & Associates, are among the four keynote speakers.

Salgado-Reyes also said Hank Asher, creator of several search databases that aid in solving crimes, will speak and is “going to reveal his latest creation at the WIC.”