President of Allied Barton Comments on Workplace Violence

Workplace violence is has a tremendous impact.  Not only are people killed or injured or forced to suffer psychological abuse,  simply put it is bad press for the employer.  There are liability factors and various lawsuits that run into the hundred of millions of dollars, annually.

The Center for Disease Control has declared workplace violence a national epidemic.   I commented on Workplace Violence recently for Professor Donna El-Armale’s Television show at Cal State University, Dominguez Hills.  Here is the link to that show.  For thos interested, I am about an hour and eight minutes into the segment.

Bill Whitmore, Chairman of Allied Barton, just published anew book, entitled,”Potential Workplace Violence Prevention and Your Organizational Success.”  A lengthy title, for sure.  But the  book looks to be most informative, judging by the release that I am posting here.

Here is but one of several excerpts form the articl, which is posted on  SecurityInfoWatch.com  —

“According to a 2008 report conducted by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than two million American workers experience some instance of workplace violence each year. Every day there are an average of two people killed and 87 injured as a result of a workplace violence incident.

These are staggering statistics, which reflect the ever-growing concern of C-Level executives who have ranked workplace violence among their top two concerns in business surveys conducted by various research and government think tanks over the last decade.”

The article reflects growing cost and corporate responsibility with respect to workplace violence.  It cites the grievous disconnect between management and the workforce, concerning workplace violence.

As I noted in my Cal State Dominguez Hills interview, it is essential that the employer create an established policy for dealing with workplace violence.  It is essential that the employer establish channels of communication and make sure all employees know that those channels are open.  It is important that employees know what to do about reporting workplace violence.  and that manger understand how to deal with the issue and how to report through the chain of command.

I encourage everyone to read the article.  It’s important to know as much as possible about addressing and preventing workplace violence.  Almost for certain, workplace violence will not be  diminishing anytime soon.

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What to Do For Employment Background Checks, Revisited

I thought I would repost this article.  The article is entitled What to Order on Employment Background Checks.   It is a good checklist of how to ascertain what you, the employer, may need for background checks for your employment candidates.

Always remember, what you order for employment screening background checks you order for everyone.  But you can vary the background checks for different levels of hire.  Simply put, for entry level employment candidates you can run one series of background checks.  For mid-management and senior executives you can develop a different background package for employment screening.

Here is the link to the article.

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PI Wedding Services–First the Background Check and Then Security

I thought this was an interesting article.  Indian Private Detectives are first hired to conduct background checks on the prospective bride or groom.  And then they are asked to provide security at the wedding.  Multitasking romance, as it were.  As Priya M. Menon reports in “Marriages Made in the Detective Office” for The Times of India, the groom’s family had hired him to conduct background checks on the prospective bride.

Apparently, in India background checks on the bride and groom are common practice.  Part of the process is running queries in the newspapers.  And now the families want the PI’s to remain in the process, providing security and performing surveillance, should a jilted lovers decide to take their disappointments out on the wedding.

According to the article…”Agencies like Malathi’s are also getting requests for surveillance during weddings. “If the man or woman has had an affair or was previously married, and families expect them to create trouble during the wedding ceremony, we are called in,” says Malathi, adding that she advises her clients to explain the situation to their prospective in-laws.

“We track down the person concerned a week before and keep a watch on his or her activities,” she says. “On the day of the wedding or reception, we have about 10 to 12 people in the hall and outside to ensure that the function is not disrupted,” says Malathi.

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Texas Audit Finds Discrepancies in Its Statewide Criminal Search

A recent audit of the Texas Statewide Criminal Search found there was a discrepancy in criminal records.   The Texas Statewide Criminal Database search is the background used by administrators to screen the state’s healthcare workers and educators and various staff members.

According to an article in the Star-Telegram….”Prosecutors and courts have failed to submit to the state disposition records on about one of every four arrests in 2009, the audit found. While that is a slight improvement from a 2006 audit, it still means that the Department of Public Safety Computerized Criminal History System is not a reliable source for complete information, the audit found.”

While there were reported improvements in the accuracy of the database, it was generally agreed the Department of Public Safety criminal records cannot be fully relied upon.   It was also noted, and fairly, that the DPS cannot be expected to be responsible for local and county courts updating their criminal records to the DPC database.

According to the article…’the report notes that 1,634 (7.65 percent) of 21,351 offenders admitted to jail, prison, or probation by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice in November 2010 did not have corresponding prosecutor and court records in the DPS system.”

State law requires that the courts and prosecutors submit updated records within thirty days of disposition.    This hasn’t been happening. So…the DPS database system not only becomes sketchy for state administrators conducting background checks but also for employers who are using the DPS Statewide Criminal Records Search for their employment screening purposes.  It looks like it has been prioritized that Texas tighten up the DPS criminal database.   I certainly hope so as otherwise convicted felons may slip through the cracks.

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