Police continue to fail background check responsibilities

previously in this blog, authorities at the highest level fail to adhere to the correct background check rules for pre-employment checks. Yet again we have another example of police departments not practicing background screening as they should, leading to officers being employed even if they have prior disciplinary problems or questionable backgrounds. Dallas News claims that “Deputies made statements or omissions on their job applications that were, at minimum, misleading”, adding that “some government agencies…enter into settlement agreements that help problem officers hide their pasts”. One example would be Jamie Powell, who was terminated as a Dallas County sheriff’s jailer after seven months. Background checks revealed that he had been untruthful during an internal affairs investigation while he was an Arlington police officer. Such mistakes should not be made in any organization, let alone a public services department. A lack of background screening and reference checks leads to individuals being employed who simply are not up to the challenge, especially in such a difficult profession as the police force. If you have a business, be sure to do background checks on potential employees, and save yourself problems further down the line.]]>