About
Mike Darling
Memberships
- International Association for Identification
- Private Investigators Association of Idaho
- Former member of the California State Division of the International Association for Identification
- Forensic Investigators Group (founding member)
- California Friction Ridge Study Group
Training
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Over 1,900 hours of documented training in the area of criminal investigation and crime scenes
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Advanced crime scene investigation and reconstruction
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Advanced fingerprint and palm print comparisons
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Bloodshed interpretation
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Interview and interrogation techniques
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Intermediate traffic collision investigation
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Photography
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And numerous additional classes
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Cogent Users Group International, educational conference, 2011-2018
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Over a thousand hours of additional self-directed study in the above topics
During my career at RPD (2-7-94 to 3-6-17), I:
- testified in Shasta County Superior Court and U.S. District Court (Northern District of California and Eastern District of California) as an expert witness in criminal and civil cases
- conducted thousands of interviews with victims, suspects and witnesses.
- conducted numerous investigations at homicides, sexual assaults, officer involved shootings, traffic collisions and property crime scenes
- reviewed reports, photographs and evidence collected from crime scenes to determine further areas of investigation
- prepared detailed crime scene diagrams and reports for case files and court
- consulted on case work for other law enforcement agencies, as far away as Ontario, Canada
- taught crime scene investigation, fingerprinting, fingerprint and palm print comparisons, courtroom testimony and photography to RPD employees, other law enforcement agencies, California DOJ and at local colleges
- compared thousands of finger and palm prints
- worked with our AFIS system (Cogent)
- supervised major crime scenes to ensure proper completion
- prepared and gave public affairs presentations
After 23 years with the Redding Police Department, I honorably retired and started my own forensic consulting and investigation business.
Now, I do forensic consulting, speak at conferences (I have lectured in Europe, as well as in the United States), provide expert witness testimony in court and train in forensic topics.