Telephone: 703-892-3700

Email: inquiry@dinolt.com

Instructor Biographies:

Philip A. Becnel IV

Phil Becnel is the Managing Partner of Dinolt Becnel & Wells Investigative Group LLC and is the Training Director of our training academy. Academically, he received his masters degree in criminal justice from Boston University and is presently an adjunct instructor of criminal justice at Westwood College in Arlington, VA, where he has instructed courses in Criminal Procedure, White Collar Crime and Criminal Investigation. As a licensed private investigator in Virginia, Maryland and Washington, DC, Mr. Becnel has performed thousands of hours of interviews in civil, criminal and independent investigations. He is a Certified Fraud Examiner through the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners in Austin, Texas, and he holds a prestigious certification in the Reid Technique of interviewing and interrogation through The Reid Institute in Chicago, Illinois. At our training academy, Mr. Becnel teaches Private Investigator Entry Level (02) and Advanced Interviewing. He is also a member of the Private Investigators Association of Virginia and National Counsel of Investigative & Security Services.

Steven M. VanDevander

Steve VanDevander, who is a Contract Instructor with our training academy, is presently the Chief Executive Officer and Training Director for PROTEKT Security and Investigative Services LLC. Mr. VanDevander served over 10 years as a Law Enforcement Officer for the State of Maryland, primarily as a Detective 1st Class with the Criminal Investigation Division. He served on the High Risk Warrant Entry Team as a Narcotics Detective and has spent several years as an undercover narcotics officer. He has personally written and executed over 300 search and seizure warrants and has conducted a vast and diverse array of investigations, including those involving homicide, rape, robbery, terrorism, and fraud. Additionally, Mr. VanDevander also worked for the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Domestic Terrorism and Civil Rights Violation Section for two years; for the U.S. Army as a Firearms and Defensive Tactics Instructor; and as a Security Manager for the American Red Cross National Headquarters, where he maintained a staff of 54 fulltime security officers across three states. He is a graduate of the Criminal Justice Program for the College of Southern Maryland and the Southeastern Center for Police Law and Security Liability Management. At our training academy, Mr. VanDevander teaches Security Officer Core Subjects, Firearms, Defensive Tactics, Report Writing and CPR/AED/1st Aid.