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Background Checks

Dallas County to Run Background Checks on Constables

As part of the increasing trend in preemployment screening for state and public service agencies, Dallas County will be conducting background checks on its prospective constables.    The background checks are to ascertain whether the prospective deputy constables are qualified for the job.

As it often seems to be the case, background checks are implemented at public service agencies, after one employee is suddenly have a criminal record or at least some form of unsavory past.   More than a few sex offenders have been discovered after the fact.   According to the Dallas Morning News

, a lieutenant in one of the constable’s offices has been charged with nine felonies, as part of a larger constable investigation.   This same employee has previous troubles in California, including criminal charges that were dismissed.   He also has a large legal judgment against him as well as certain issues over child support.

As I have mentioned in previous blog articles, including Background Checks for Utah Schools, there is an increasing,albeit reactive trend to implement background checks on state and public service employment candidates.   There is also the matter of the responsible background checking service to conduct thorough background searches.  In the recent past, some background checking services were reported to have done shoddy jobs when conducting background searches for state agencies, school boards, etc.

It is then a matter that these background searches turn around in a timely manner.  Background checks fail to do anyone good if the job candidate is hired and is on the job for months, before the background report is returned to the employer.   It is finally a matter of reviewing the background report carefully, making sure no criminal charges, or discrepancies in the applications are overlooked.

I would hope that other public service agencies are more proactive in instituting background checks.  That is to say that they don’t wait until one of their employees faces criminal charges before they learn of the past criminal history.   This often seems to be the case.   Better to run these background checks up front.   It is, after all, one way of protecting both the public and fellow employees from nasty character.

Check them out before you hire.

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.

2 replies on “Dallas County to Run Background Checks on Constables”

[…] I have blogged about this issues a number of times.  I have especially taken note when state,municipal and public service agents become proactive and engage in decent preemployment screening practices.  One such article commending the practice was entitled, Dallas  County to Run Background Checks on Constables. […]