Obtaining the Certified Security Consultant℠ designation reflects a level of professionalism, capability, and integrity. As such, applicants must meet the following criteria in order to have the opportunity to sit for the CSC℠ exam. Both members and non-members of the IAPSC may apply.
- Each candidate for certification shall have at least three years of documented security consulting experience. Functioning in a verifiable internal consultant capacity shall be acceptable in meeting the three-year security consulting experience requirement. Internal Consultants, as defined by the IAPSC, are eligible for the CSC if they meet the other qualifications.
- Verification of experience will be submitted in the form of validated references.
- If security consulting experience is unverifiable, applicants may submit evidence of work product in the form of deliverables (survey report, written opinions or schematics/drawings) from five (5) projects/clients. Client names and other identifying information may be redacted from each sample prior to submitting to the Professional Certification Committee for consideration. Work product will be accepted at the discretion of the Professional Certification Committee.
- Each candidate for certification shall submit documentation of an earned baccalaureate or higher degree from an accredited college or university.
- 8 years of direct, broad security management experience may be accepted at the discretion of the Certification Committee as the equivalent of a degree.
- The degree requirement may also be replaced with a combination of experience and certification at the discretion of the Certification Committee. For example, a CPP or CISSP and 4 additional years of experience or a PSP and six (6) additional years of experience may replace the degree requirement. Educational replacement is at the discretion of the Professional Certification Committee.
- Independence shall include any requirements as defined by the IAPSC By-Laws.
- Independence shall mean:
- Certified Security Consultant℠ candidates shall be characterized by professional objectivity and accept no compensation or financial benefit other than their fees or salary, directly or indirectly, as a result of their recommendations to clients.
- Certified Security Consultants℠ are independent and not affiliated with any manufacturer or vendor of security equipment, nor do they profit in any way from a client’s selection of vendors or contractors.
- Certified Security Consultants℠ may not sell security equipment or provide any services such as, but not limited to sales and/or installation of: alarms systems, access controls, closed circuit television systems, contract security officers, undercover agents, bodyguards, or protection forces.
- Certified Security Consultants℠ may not have any form of affiliation with a product or service that could be construed as a possible conflict of interest.
- Certified Security Consultant’s advice and recommendations are based solely on the needs of their clients. Any person who pays or accepts a fee, a commission, or other valuable consideration from an individual or organization whose equipment, supplies, or services that person might recommend in the course of his or her services to a client shall not become certified or continue as a Certified Security Consultant℠.
- Persons engaged in or providing investigative services, criminal or civil, are not eligible for certification. Certified Security Consultants℠ shall not be known as investigators and will not advertise themselves as such. They will not engage in any of the following activities: divorce or domestic investigations, surveillance, skip tracing, repossession of property, or standalone civil or criminal record checks. They will not provide undercover or bodyguard personnel. Nothing contained herein prohibits any member from complying with any law or regulation, by any governmental or regulatory body, which requires that Security Consultants be licensed as Investigators or any other related license. Certified Security Consultants℠ may “investigate” within broad parameters of the definition of the word, in order to determine the needs of their client. Certified Security Consultants℠ investigate only for the purpose of developing information to complete their surveys, design, or testimony, contracting out traditional investigative work to private investigators or similar practitioners. It is understood that a greater level of investigation may be required of those who specialize in fields of financial fraud, art theft, corporate internal theft and fraud, securities fraud, terrorism-extortion, or similar environments, requiring specialized knowledge and experience outside the scope of the routine private investigator.
- Certified Security Consultants℠ may not engage in detection of deception by providing polygraph services, pencil and paper honesty testing, voice stress analysis, handwriting or grapho-analysis, or by any other means. If a client requests these types of services, they are to be contracted out to qualified vendors.
- Certified Security Consultants℠ shall sign a statement declaring their Independence as defined above.
- Any person who has been convicted of any felony, or who has been convicted of any crime involving moral turpitude, or who has engaged in any act which constitutes moral turpitude, shall not become certified or continue as a Certified person.
- Each candidate for certification will demonstrate significant and measurable contribution to the security industry. Examples of contributions include, but are not limited to security-related presentations or public speaking; publishing; teaching; serving in a responsible charge position for a security industry association (officer, board member, committee chairperson). Each contribution must be security-related and verifiable. Other contributions may also be accepted at the discretion of the Professional Certification Committee. A minimum of three Significant and Measurable contributions must be demonstrated in the five year period prior to application.
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