RS&A Online Training

John P. Black serves as the Training Coordinator for Ron Smith & Associates, Inc. (RS&A). He has a Bachelor of Science degree in Forensic Chemistry as well as graduate hours in Analytical Chemistry from Indiana University. John has 28 years of experience as a forensic scientist and has worked for RS&A, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division and the United States Drug Enforcement Administration. He has spent the last 25 years as a latent print and footwear/tire track examiner, with 12 of those years also being devoted to crime scene investigation. John is certified by the International Association for Identification (IAI) as a Latent Print Examiner, Footwear Examiner and Senior Crime Scene Analyst. He is a former member of the IAI’s Crime Scene Certification Board, Ethics Committee, Editorial Review Board and Footwear/Tire Track Subcommittee. He has provided expert witness testimony in Federal and State courts on over 110 occasions in Florida, Georgia, Massachusetts, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Puerto Rico, St. Croix and St. Thomas. John’s forensic research has been published in the Journal of Forensic Identification and the Wiley Encyclopedia of Forensic Science. He has conducted over 250 training classes throughout North America, Africa, Asia, Central America and Europe on topics such as fingerprint examination, latent print processing, crime scene and evidence photography, crime scene investigation, courtroom testimony, impression evidence collection and bloodstain pattern analysis. John was awarded Distinguished Member status by the IAI in 2007.