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Background Checks

More Inaccurate Reports for State Agencies and Background Checks

A state audit of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) found that the agency that runs background checks on school teachers and potential gun buyers often misses information regarding criminal convictions.   The lack of information may be due to a longstanding debate about who is responsible for returning criminal records.   The disagreement sesm to be between the court clerks and the sheriff’s departments as to who returns the the disposition of criminal background checks to the TBI.

So to put it in layman’s terms, the TBI may have record there are criminal cases, but they have a tough time finding out if a case  resulted in conviction or if it was dismissed.    The problem of course is child molesters and convicted criminals would escape detection and allowed to either purchase guns or work in schools.   Not good on either account, since guns canlead to more crime and working in schools gives sex offenders even greater access to children.

In fairness, Tennessee is not the only state to fail to get its ducks ina row, regarding background checks.  It seems every other week you read about one state or another, or some municipal agency that has embarrassed itself with the way they handle their background checking program.   We hear repeatedly about criminals being hired or sex offenders slipping through the cracks.    Let’s hope in the futre that the municipal agencies will get it together and work in some coordinated effort to protect its citizens from criminal predators.

Check them out before you hire.  and then look over the results.

By Gordon Basichis

Gordon Basichis is the Co-Founder of Corra Group, specializing in pre-employment background checks and corporate research. He has been a marketing and media executive and has worked in the entertainment industry, the financial, health care and technology sectors. He is the author of the best selling Beautiful Bad Girl, The Vicki Morgan Story, a non-fiction novel that helped define exotic sexuality in the late twentieth century. He is the author of the Constant Travellers and has recently completed a new book, The Guys Who Spied for China, dealing with Chinese Espionage in the United States. He has been a journalist for several newspapers and is a screenwriter and producer.