The key about background checks is that once you order them you actually have to read the report and then apply it so that you are discriminating on who you hire. In the case of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, many of the background checks that were returned through its employment screening process were either overlooked or ignored. This had created a scandal where several city councilman and county supervisors have called for a probe of the department and its hiring policies. Most of the controversy surrounds hiring practices occurring in 2010.
According to an article in the Los Angeles Times…”Ultimately, about 280 county officers were given jobs, including applicants who had accidentally fired their weapons, had sex at work and solicited prostitutes, the records show.
“For nearly 100 hires, investigators discovered evidence of dishonesty, such as making untrue statements or falsifying police records. At least 15 were caught cheating on the department’s own polygraph exams.”
Not what you call a stellar group of applicants to uphold the law in one of America’s most major cities.
More about this tomorrow.
