Certification for Paranormal Investigators
A while back I responded to someone’s post in regards to whether or not Paranormal Investigators should be certified. I saw so many people getting their panties in a bunch over this issue so I began to research other forums with the same question and all over there were more people getting their panties in a wad, I just don’t get it. If it’s something you love to do and you want to do it safely and responsibly, then why not get certified? This is an interesting topic, so before you jump on me, please read my full perspective and then feel free to fire away.
Here’s what I think:
My first question would be "Are they trying to certify those that have gifts or are they just looking to certify those that are investigating establishment and residences?” My next question would be “If investigators are the target, is it more so for those investigating public establishments and private properties rather then places like cemeteries or the woods?"
If the idea is to certify investigators whether they have gifts or not that intend to investigate private residences and/or establishments then I believe people may try to say that you are "surveying" someone's property and therefore there is a potential risk of damage, theft, or other property issues. Also there are people “investigators” that often take photos they obtained during an investigation and post the names of people that were in some way related to an investigation and/or the activity they believe they experienced. These investigators may disclose these names and photos to the public without first getting permission from those involved. In these types of cases, if someone then wants to sue it could get messy.
Imagine this, someone contacts you and says “Hey
check out my house, I swear it’s haunted.” Your team goes there and takes pics,
video, evp’s, etc. You then go and post it on a website or forum, you discuss
the house, post pics of inside this person’s home, maybe even mention the
person’s name without first getting their permission in writing, as most
investigators don’t do. Somehow someone else sees it, word gets around that
person’s neighborhood that they think they have ghost in their house and that
person begins getting questioned and harassed, maybe by non-believers on their
block. They never said you could provide anyone this information, their
neighbors think they are crazy, as a result they believe they are in emotional
distress, and as a further result they sue you! Is this an extreme? Most
definitely. Does that mean it can’t or won’t happen? Not at all. People these
days are losing it faster then ever and are getting more and more sue happy,
it’s important to be careful. These types of legalities may be an issue that
you’re not even aware of, so like a Private Investigator, there may be some
sort of license or certification required.
As someone with gifts, I still would not be apposed
to this. There is a difference between experiencing the other side and interacting
with human's and their property. I'm not sure if that makes sense, but that is
my take. I don't believe you can or should be certified because you are gifted,
that's insane and I would never go for it, but to conduct investigations in
establishments and residences… I could see that and would oblige accordingly. It'd
be a matter of respect and probably for your own legal safety should someone
change their mind or just be mean and try to sue you for something crazy down
the line.
I suppose the next discussion topic should be
what should the certification protect investigators against, what should be
required in order to obtain one, and what rights, if any, would be extended to
certified investigators? Should they know certain information or the use of certain
equipment? Should they have to past tests? Would they be required to complete
certain waivers, releases, and other legal forms for each non-publicly open
location? Will there be a certification fee? If so, is it something fair like
$20 or is it going to be a ridiculous amount like a PI licenses which is over
$600? While I agree there should be
standards and regulation and yes, maybe even a certification for investigators,
I think it’s a fine line and there’s a lot more questions that need to be
answered and fine tuned before it can be mandatory.
I feel that getting certified should require passing a test that included
several laws, safety questions, an aptitude for drafting, adhering to, and
dispensing legally binding contracts and release forms, etc. The idea is to
protect both the individual’s privacy and property if that’s their wish and to
protect the investigators if suddenly an individual changes their mind about
something after the fact. Getting certified will show that these people that
are coming to my home or establishment understand my rights, will respect my
wishes, and will do their best to keep myself and my property safe from damage.
This concept seems very reasonable to me. I also think many investigators
should think logically, from multiple perspectives, and try to untangle their
panties a little. =)
In : General
Tags: spirits ghosts ghost spirit paranormalpi paranormal certifications paranormal investigators investigations