A private background checking company overlooked a domestic violence protective order on a job applicant for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department. The employment applicant was hired as a cop and then dismissed, after he had been accused of assaulting female motorists. At least six people have accused him of sexual battery and misconduct during traffic stops. It appears, according to the charges on charlotteobserver.com the young officer has difficulty controlling himself.
A firm,comprised of former police officers, had been contracted out by the police department to run these background checks. In the ongoing saga of various state and public service agencies, and the companies to whom they outsource, someone had apparently missed something. Like the record that this guy had domestic violence issues.
As we don’t really know the facts about the case, we don’t know if this record was found in criminal court, or as sometimes in the case, in civil court. Often employers do not mandate or wish to conduct county civil searches where some domestic issues are recorded. While this case should have also been recorded in criminal court, the case may not have been recorded. It’s tough to say.
Whatever the reason, he is a cop who should have never been on the police first. There are the obvious issues of public trust and public endangerment, and for the city and county issues of liability and the possibility of costly law suits.
I have been blogging about this issue, the fax pas created by public service agencies and their background checks. I posted one article last month, Arizona County Orders Tougher Background Checks, after that county experienced certain mishaps with their new law enforcement hires and with some of their criminal records falling in between the cracks. Given the frequency of failure in turning up or accurately reviewing criminal records, I have to wonder how long have states and public service agencies been screwing up on background checks? Is this a relatively new phenomenon, or has this been going on a long time? In fact, when did responsible agencies even start to run background checks? All good questions. Unfortunately, answers and solutions are more difficult to come by.
Well, at least the public exposure is causing more public service agencies to scrutinize their candidates. Maybe, overtime, most agencies will get this down right. But then if it is the police who are screwing up, then what can you expect from the dog catcher?
