It usually takes an “incident” for cash strapped public service agencies to opt for backgrounds. It is understandable that with the economy in the toilet more states and municipal public services are facing severe budgetary constraints. So in a good many cases they hold out as long as possible before either implementing background checks into their pre-employment screening programs or in modifying their background searches so they are more relevant and timely.
We can add Plainfield Township, Michigan to this growing list of public service entities where recent discoveries about their employees has caused a mandate for background checks and new background screening policies. A township clerk was recently fired after he was charged with propositioning four 15-year-old girls. It turns out the employee had been on the sexual offender’s registry since 1977, and according to the Grand Rapids News this was apparently a known fact. Why the clerk was even hired and why he was not dismissed earlier is of course a pressing question.
Okay, so now the Plainfield Township attorney to draw up a policy for board consideration. This would be the new policy regarding background checks both for the township and its related school districts.
Fortunately for this township, the clerk in question was fired after propositioning the four underage girls. this is bad enough, but I say fortunately because it could have been a whole lot worse. There are situations where kids are molested, mutilated, raped, and murdered. The nation abounds with these kinds of horror stories. It is only then that the cost of background checks seems relatively nominal when compared to the liability costs and the public embarrassment, to say nothing of being responsible for having a kid harmed under your watch.
There are many cases where it is this kind of public embarrassment and the uncovering of a known felon that will cause a public agency to mandate background checks. Unfortunately, from what I have seen, a large share of them involves sex crimes and children. I should add that in many cases there are background checks in place, only they are too long in their turn around. The job candidate is hired by then and no one bothers to review the background report. No one looks for criminal records. Only later, when there is the proverbial “incident” is it discovered that the employee is a convicted felon or is on the sexual offenders registry.
Even for small towns this is not the world it once was. Perhaps it never was that world and we were all too naive to realize it. But the Norman Rockwell aspect if not completed departed has faded significantly. Couple abnormal behavior with illicit drugs and the short supply of law enforcement personnel and general public apathy, and even the more pastoral settings have the formula for the devil’s brew.
I would urge any municipality and public service to adapt a stringent policy on background checks. You can shop around and find reasonable pricing. Mandate that no only must these background checks be conducted, but that the hiring manager or some responsibility party must review the background report when it is returned and sign off on it. Make sure that hiring manager it is their responsibility, and their job on the line, to examine carefully that background report.
This is no joke. This is a situation that can only get worse if not addressed proactively. So check them out before you hire.
