Not all background checks are created equal. And not all background checking companies provide equal or competent services. With this in mind, the Citizens Voice, in Wilkes Barre, PA has reported the lament of the Luzerne County Correctional Facility in ordering background checks from a private service that reportedly returned these background checks months after ht prison employees were hired.
It seems like a credible lament. While some employers will hire a job candidate on the contingency they pass their background check, the understanding is that the background search will be returned in the very near future. But as has been the case with various state agencies and public services, the background checks return long after the person has been hired. And then no one bothers to review the background check for the little things like criminal convictions or the candidate being on the sexual offender’s registry.
Much of the criminal records were reported to have been retrieved from a state online database. In my estimation, the cost for each search per person is what is an acceptable price for an advanced executive background search. Small wonder Solicitor, Vita DeLuca, declared the background searching endeavor “a complete and utter waste of money.” To add insult to injury one of the companies hired to conduct the background searches is owned by a former Wiles Barre Police Detective. That detective, the Citizens Voice reported, is currently awaiting sentencing on unrelated bribery charges. Curious, at least. The second firm retained to do the background searches is reportedly under investigation by the FBI. So, to quote from Alice in Wonderland, “it’s getting curiouser and curiouser.”
Thorough criminal background reports should not involve just a criminal database search. To be truly thorough, it is best o conduct county criminal background searches, as they are the most accurate and will show any pending cases. The last thing an employer need is to hire a job candidate and find he has a pending case and may be indisposed for the next sixty days or fifteen years because of a criminal infraction.
I always feel bad when I read an article like this. With many states and public services hurting in this economic meltdown the last thing they need to do is spend money for nothing. And as with more than a few public services there is always the financially induced favoritism that enables one group to land what are often lucrative contracts over another. Whether this was the case here or not will be determined, I’m sure, with the investigation.
In any event, it is disconcerting as it strips the public service agency and by consequence the public itself from receiving proper services. In this lousy economy, this is especially a cause for much concern. The money spent for these background searches could have been spent for better purposes.
This kind of thing also besmirches the background checking industry in general. Most people in that industry are sincere about their business and always looking to improve their services to their clients’ satisfaction.
Unfortunately, there is also…this. Too bad.
