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Bylaws of the Scientific
Working Group on Dog and Orthogonal
detector Guidelines (SWGDOG) I.
Objectives II. Membership III Officers and Duties IV. Meetings V.
Subcommittees VI. Process for Approval of Guidelines
or Recommendations VII. Amendments to
Bylaws Introduction For more than a
decade, there have been scientific working
groups (SWGs) established initially sponsored by the FBI. The purpose of
these working groups is to establish professional forums in which federal,
state, and local government experts, together with academic and commercial
scientists and other recognized experts in the selected field can develop
optimal operational guidelines. Recently, it has
become increasingly clear that local law enforcement as well as national
homeland security can benefit from improvements in the performance of
deployed detector dogs and their proper combination with electronic detection
devices. A variety of leaders in the detection canine and instrument
community support the establishment of a scientific working group in this area, and there has already been some
standardization efforts in this area that can be drawn from. At the 2nd
and 3rd National Detector Dog Conferences held in 2001 and 2003,
general best practices for detector dog teams were drafted and refined. Also,
an Interpol European Working Group on the Use
of Police Dogs in Crime Investigation (IEWGPD) recently concluded a similar
project in Dr. Kenneth Furton from Florida
International University and Dr. Karen Overall from University of
Pennsylvania initiated the formation of an exploratory meeting to ascertain
if valid justification and broad support could be demonstrated to adopt a
formal SWG on dogs and orthogonal detector guidelines. This meeting was held in After affirming a very high
interest level from this group for detector dog and orthogonal detector
guidelines the Scientific Working Group on Dog and Orthogonal detector
Guidelines (SWGDOG) agreed to draft the following bylaws for review and
subsequent ratification. I.
Objectives
The Scientific Working Group on Dog and Orthogonal Detector Guidelines
hereinafter referred to as (SWGDOG) shall serve as a professional forum in
which practitioners and practitioners from related fields can share, discuss,
and evaluate methods, techniques, protocols, quality assurance, education,
and research relating to detector dogs and orthogonal detection standards.
Orthogonal is defined here as mutually independent methods of detecting items
of interest such as using different detection and identification modalities.
This forum shall address substantive and operational issues within the field
of dog and orthogonal detector guidelines and shall work to build consensus-based,
or so-called “best practice,” guidelines. In furtherance of its mission, SWGDOG shall
recommend and disseminate discipline guidelines for quality assurance and
quality control, to provide guidelines and not to mandate decisions of
policy, to discuss, share and exchange ideas regarding forensic analysis
methods, protocols and research, to bring together organizations and/or
individuals actively pursuing relevant analysis methods for the purpose of
exchanging and disseminating information, to cooperate with other national
and international organizations in developing relevant standards and to
monitor and disseminate research and technology related to the discipline. II.
Membership A. SWGDOG shall
consist of a maximum of 55 members and shall consist both of an executive
board and a body of regular members. The total number of members comprising
the group shall depend, at least in part, upon the number of Subcommittees
empanelled by the SWGDOG (see description of SWGDOG Chair under section B).
The term “member” shall be used to designate and describe both Executive
Board and regular members. B. The SWGDOG
Executive Board shall consist of a maximum of 12 individuals and shall
include the SWGDOG Chair, SWGDOG Co-Chair, SWGDOG Vice Chair, SWGDOG Legal
Counsel, SWGDOG Executive Secretary and regular members. All members of the
SWGDOG Executive Board shall have voting privileges with the exception of the
SWGDOG Executive Secretary. The SWGDOG Chair has full voting
privileges, except on routine business meeting motions where his/her vote
will be used to break ties. 1. The SWGDOG Chair
shall be a representative from the academic community. 2. The SWGDOG
Co-Chair shall be a representative from the academic community. The Co-Chair position may be ratified by a simple majority
vote of the Executive Board. . 3. The SWGDOG Vice Chair shall be a member of
the Sponsoring Agency. The Vice chair position may be ratified by a simple
majority vote of the Executive Board. 4. The SWGDOG Legal Counsel shall be
appointed by SWGDOG Chair and the position may be ratified by a simple
majority vote of the Executive Board. 5. The SWGDOG
Executive Secretary shall be appointed by the SWGDOG Chair. 6. The
SWGDOG regular members of the SWGDOG Executive Board shall be ratified
individually by a simple majority of the Executive Board. C.
Regular members of SWGDOG shall be appointed by a majority vote of the
Executive Board. 1. The SWGDOG
Membership Committee shall consist of the SWGDOG Vice-Chair and two SWGDOG
Executive Board regular members. The SWGDOG Executive Secretary shall receive
nominations for membership, utilizing a standardized application process and
forward these applications to the SWGDOG Membership Committee. The
subcommittee co-chairs shall inform the membership committee of targeted
vacancies prior to the membership committee’s recommendations. In the absence
of targeted vacancies a general vacancy recommendation can be made by the
membership of the Executive Board. Prior to submission to the Executive
Board, the SWGDOG Membership committee shall ensure that the application
materials are complete for each nominee. Membership selections require a ¾
vote of the SWGDOG Executive Board. All membership selections will be made no
less than 60 days prior to the next general membership meeting. The SWGDOG
Membership Committee shall, to the extent possible, consider ancillary
information such as profession (law enforcement, scientist, consultant,
etc.), geography (regional, international, etc.), as well as affiliation
(local, state, or federal government agencies; private; academic; etc.) in
evaluating its potential membership candidates. 2. SWGDOG
Membership resides with the individual and not his/her agency or affiliation. 3. Regular members
of SWGDOG shall have voting privileges for the purpose of ratifying SWGDOG
draft documents and other work products, Bylaw amendments, Executive Board
members, with the exception of first time Executive Board appointees, and
other business as deemed necessary by the SWGDOG Chair. D. The SWGDOG Chair
may offer ex officio membership to a representative from an agency or
organization related to Dog and Orthogonal detection and ratified
individually by a simple majority vote of the regular members at a planned
SWGDOG meeting. Ex officio members shall not be considered regular
members of SWGDOG and shall not be granted voting privileges. E. The SWGDOG Chair
may invite guests to participate in SWGDOG meetings. Invited guests shall not
be considered members of SWGDOG and shall not be granted voting privileges. F. The term of
appointment for the SWGDOG Chair, Vice-Chair, SWGDOG Executive Secretary, and
SWGDOG Executive Board regular members shall be seven years. The term of
appointment for SWGDOG Legal Counsel shall be seven years. Regular members of SWGDOG shall be
appointed for seven-year terms. Subsequent terms of appointment for all
member positions shall be seven years with no limitation of the number of
terms served either consecutively or in total. All members will be required
to sign and comply with the SWGDOG non-disclosure agreement. G. The vacancy of a
SWGDOG membership position occurs upon the death of a SWGDOG member, the
resignation of a SWGDOG member from SWGDOG, or the completion of a SWGDOG
membership term. A SWGDOG member can have their membership revoked under any
of the following conditions: 1) absence from two consecutive SWGDOG meetings
without good cause, 2) unprofessional
behavior, 3) non-compliance under the SWGDOG non-disclosure agreement, 4)
inadequate participation. The procedure for revoking membership is as
follows: i) the offending member’s subcommittee chair shall recommend
revocation to the Membership Committee, ii) the Membership Committee shall
recommend a course of action to the Executive Board, and iii) revocation of
SWGODG membership requires a ¾ vote of the SWGDOG Executive Board. The decision by the SWGDOG Executive Board
shall be final and revocation of SWGDOG membership will be effective
immediately. Any SWGDOG membership vacancy shall be filled in the manner
prescribed for initial appointment and said SWGDOG membership shall extend
through the remainder of the active term initiated by the originally
appointed SWGDOG member. III.
Officers and Duties A. The SWGDOG Chair
shall manage the activities of the SWGDOG Executive Board and perform all
duties incident to the office of SWGDOG Chair, including but not necessarily
limited to the following: scheduling SWGDOG meetings, preparing SWGDOG meeting
agendas, presiding at SWGDOG meetings, appointing SWGDOG Executive Board
Members, appointing SWGDOG Regular Members, establishing SWGDOG committees,
inviting guests to SWGDOG meetings, assigning tasks to SWGDOG members and/or
SWGDOG Subcommittees, acting as the principle spokesperson for SWGDOG, and
forwarding appropriate SWGDOG recommendations on to the sponsoring agency as
necessary. B. The SWGDOG
Vice-Chair will assist the SWGDOG Chair in his/her duties as needed. The
SWGDOG Vice-Chair, in the temporary absence of the SWGDOG Chair, shall be
authorized to conduct SWGDOG business, to include presiding over SWGDOG
meetings in accordance with the agenda set by the SWGDOG Chair. The SWGDOG
Vice-Chair will serve as the Chair of the SWGDOG Membership Committee. C. The SWGDOG
Executive Secretary shall perform such duties as may be assigned by the
SWGDOG Chair and shall perform all administrative duties incident to the
office including, but not necessarily limited to the following: preparing
summary minutes of SWGDOG meetings, maintaining records of SWGDOG meetings
and bylaws, and keeping custody of SWGDOG records. The SWGDOG Executive
Secretary may be assisted by staff provided by the sponsoring agency if
necessary. D. The SWGDOG
Executive Board shall review and evaluate all recommendations made by SWGDOG
Subcommittees and vote on such recommendations. A unanimous vote of the
SWGDOG Executive Board members shall constitute an act of the Board. A vote
by the SWGDOG Executive Board shall be considered the final action on any
SWGDOG Subcommittee recommendation. IV. Meetings A. SWGDOG
shall meet a minimum of one time, but no more than twice, per calendar year.
SWGDOG meetings are dependent on available resources by the sponsoring
agency. The SWGDOG Executive Board may convene from time to time when deemed
necessary by the Chair and when in accordance with available resources. B. All SWGDOG
members shall be notified of SWGDOG meetings as far in advance of the meeting
date as possible; however, in all cases, no less than two weeks advance
notice of a planned SWGDOG meeting shall be given to all SWGDOG members. C. The SWGDOG
Executive Secretary shall facilitate travel and/or lodging arrangements for
SWGDOG members to attend SWGDOG meetings. The sponsoring agency may assist in
the making of travel and/or lodging arrangements for SWGDOG members in
coordination with the SWGDOG Executive Secretary. D. Other than the
SWGDOG Executive Secretary, the SWGDOG Executive Board and SWGDOG regular
members shall receive no compensation or honoraria in lieu of salary or wages
for their time spent attending SWGDOG meetings or working on SWGDOG business.
V.
Subcommittees A. The SWGDOG Chair
may empanel a SWGDOG Subcommittee to address a specific topic or set of issues
identified to be important to the group or the general discipline of Dogs and
Orthogonal detection. The SWGDOG Chair shall designate a SWGDOG member to
serve as the Chair of that SWGDOG Subcommittee. The SWGDOG Chair will
appoint, upon recommendation from the SWGDOG Subcommittee Chair, a minimum of
two additional SWGDOG regular members to serve on said SWGDOG Subcommittee.
The SWGDOG Subcommittee Chair shall manage the activities of the Subcommittee
and perform all duties incident to the office of a SWGDOG Subcommittee Chair,
including but not necessarily limited to the following: preparing
Subcommittee meeting agendas, presiding at Subcommittee meetings, preparing
summary minutes of Subcommittee meetings, maintaining records of Subcommittee
meetings, preparing Subcommittee task documents, acting as spokesperson for
the Subcommittee, and forwarding appropriate draft documents and other work
products to the SWGDOG Chair and SWGDOG membership. B.
Upon completion of an assigned task(s) to include a draft document or other
work product, the SWGDOG Subcommittee Chair shall advise the SWGDOG Chair and
request to be placed on the agenda of a planned SWGDOG meeting. The SWGDOG
Subcommittee Chair shall report to the SWGDOG membership during a planned
SWGDOG meeting on the Subcommittee’s draft document or other work product. C. Upon completion
of all the duties assigned it by the SWGDOG Chair, and absent any additional
emerging tasks, a SWGDOG Subcommittee shall be indefinitely suspended or
dissolved. The SWGDOG Chair shall make any necessary reassignments of SWGDOG
Subcommittee members from suspended or dissolved Subcommittees to new or
existing SWGDOG Subcommittees. VI. Process
for Approval of Guidelines or Recommendations A.
Following the presentation by the SWGDOG Subcommittee Chair, SWGDOG members
shall be provided with the Subcommittee’s draft document or work product and
granted an opportunity to conduct a review. A review shall be considered a
written evaluation and/or an oral evaluation captured within the SWGDOG
meeting minutes of the Subcommittee’s draft document or work product. Such
review shall be deadlined at the discretion of the SWGDOG Chair, and this
critique shall then be forwarded to the SWGDOG Subcommittee Chair for review
and response by the Subcommittee. B. After revision,
the draft document or work product will be re-presented to the SWGDOG members
for a vote. An acceptance vote of 3/4 (either present or in absentia)
of the full SWGDOG membership will be required for forwarding the draft
document or work product to the SWGDOG Executive Board for action. The SWGDOG
Chair will set a minimum of a 14-day deadline for the vote. Failure to vote
by the deadline will be considered a vote in favor of the draft document or
work product. Failure to achieve a 3/4 vote will return the draft document or
work product to the SWGDOG Subcommittee and will follow the prescribed
process until accepted or rejected. C.
The SWGDOG Executive Board shall vote on the Subcommittee’s accepted draft
document or work product. A unanimous vote (either present or in absentia)
of the SWGDOG Executive Board will be required for approval of the draft
document or work product. The SWGDOG Chair will set a minimum of a 14-day deadline
for the vote. Failure to vote by the deadline will be considered a vote in
favor of the draft document or work product. D.
An approved draft document or work product will be offered for public comment
for a minimum of 60 days. Comments made in writing will be sent to the
Subcommittee where each comment will be formally addressed. E.
After public comment and any necessary revision(s), the draft document or
work product will be re-presented to the SWGDOG membership in accordance with
section VI. B. If accepted the draft document or work product will be
forwarded to the SWGDOG Executive Board for final approval by unanimous vote
in accordance with section VI. C. F. All revisions to approved documents will be reflected as follows: deletions will be
shown as strikethroughs, and additions will be underlined. Both marked and
unmarked documents will be posted on the website for review; one document
will show the changes and the other document will be the clean version. G.
After final approval by the SWGDOG Executive Board, the work product will be
published in Forensic Science Communications and/or through other
public forums including on a SWGDOG website. VII.
Amendments to the Bylaws A.
Proposed amendments to the bylaws will be made to the SWGDOG Executive Board
for consideration. B. If the SWGDOG
Executive Board deems it appropriate, the proposed amendment shall be
provided to SWGDOG members at least 30 days prior to a planned SWGDOG meeting
at which they are to be voted upon. The member may be present, vote by proxy,
or vote in absentia. Votes must be received by the deadline set by the
SWGDOG Chair. Failure to vote will be considered a vote in favor of the
amendment. C. An affirmation vote of
2/3 of regular membership.
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For more information, please contact: Jessie Greb |
