August 18, 2010 – 4:09 am
About 35,000 criminal court records have not been logged into the Police National Computer in Scotland in 2007 and many more may also not be in the system. The PNC is the tool that employers use for criminal background checks. Judges and police officers will also not be able to determine how much of a risk a suspect is without the complete records.
On the flip side, many records may have also been deleted. Scottish officials are afraid that violent criminals may not be sentenced properly if their criminal records are not available.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/scotland/7926049/Scottish-public-at-risk-from-missing-criminal-records.html
August 16, 2010 – 4:16 am
Not all peace officers in Texas undergo criminal background checks. Several Dallas County deputy constables do not have criminal background checks or previous employment checks. The lack of documentation was revealed in a recent state audit. Criminal checks were not completed in 10 deputies’ files.
The information comes at a time when the office is being scrutinized for a lack of documentation that showed excessive time off and other problems. The constable’s office has called it a misunderstanding and that the problems have been corrected. The lack of documentation does not mean that they were not completed, state officials said.
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/stories/DN-audit_28met.ART.State.Edition1.4d20269.html
August 14, 2010 – 4:42 pm
According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, 18 percent of medical marijuana center owners in Colorado have been convicted of felonies. However, officials are expected to weed some of those out with a new law that prohibits anyone with a felony sentence within the last five years from having a medical marijuana license. Criminal background checks are expected to reveal these convictions.
The law also changes the nomenclature of the centers, which had previously been called dispensaries. The owners of these centers think it is unfair. However, the DEA believes they have a case since only eight percent of Colorado’s adult population has been arrested for drug crimes while 28 percent of medical marijuana center owners have been arrested for drug crimes.
Colorado currently has about 1,100 medical marijuana centers. State officials expect that number will be cut in half with the new rules.
http://www.9news.com/news/health/article.aspx?storyid=145526&catid=180
August 12, 2010 – 7:30 pm
Unfortunately, it sometimes takes a tragedy for lawmakers to decide to make a change in policy. After the death of lacrosse player Yeardley Love, the University of Virginia has decided to check the background of students.
The policy will require all students to disclose in writing their criminal records. Until they do, they will not be able to access course material or e-mails. Anyone caught lying could be kicked out of school.
Love was killed in May by an ex-boyfriend. He had previously been arrested but school officials did not know of his record.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/06/yeardley-love-murder-lead_n_673716.html
August 11, 2010 – 8:11 am
Massachusetts is the first state that will prohibit employers from asking applicants if they have been charged with a crime. The exception is employers who work with what are called vulnerable populations or those who deal with money transactions. Employers can ask during the verbal interview.
The bill was passed after some with past convictions said they could not get a job, even though it had been years after they had served their time. And some criminal records are now sealed. The exception is sex offender records which are never sealed.
http://www.examiner.com/x-58809-Boston-City-Buzz-Examiner~y2010m8d6-New-Mass-Law-Prohibits-Employers-Inquiry-On-Felony-Convictions
August 10, 2010 – 4:29 am
A state auditor says Georgia’s sex offender registry could be misleading the public about the threat of offenders living in their area. The report says that other agencies have more up-to-date information. Some of those agencies are the 159 sheriff’s offices that are required to maintain local websites.
The audit also found that the data is not updated in a timely manner. This includes photos and descriptions of offenders.
The registry also fails to recognize that most sex crimes are committed by someone the victim knows. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation agrees with many of the finding but say funding cuts are keeping them from improving the registry.
http://www.atlantaunfiltered.com/2010/08/05/georgias-sex-offender-registry-a-mess-state-auditors-say/
Indiana officials are mulling a requirement for nurses to undergo criminal background checks. Under the current system, nurses must report their arrest to their superiors. However, an investigation by a newspaper showed that nurses are not self-reporting.
A law being proposed by an Indianapolis state senator would require nurses to under background checks when they apply or renew their licenses. The director of the state’s nursing board said that the state cannot afford the background checks, which are about $100 each. There are 91,500 RNs in the state and 29,400 LPNs.
Even though the state does not require background checks, many hospitals do require them. However, many nursing homes do not require them.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-in-nurses-background,0,912010.story
Sometimes an illegal alien is not caught through a regular criminal background check. Sadly, like other criminals those who are illegally in the country commit horrific crimes. One of those happened in Colorado, where a Guatemalan immigrant was speeding through an intersection and caused the death of a 3-year-old boy who was in an ice cream parlor.
The Colorado governor is considering using a federal background check program called Secure Communities which was create din 2008. This allows local authorities to check a person’s immigration history through a federal government database.
The program has been successful in Harris County, Texas, which has identified more than 39,000 illegal aliens with a criminal record. More than 9,800 have been deported.
However, critics of the program say it encourages racial profiling. Those critics are pushing the governor to reject the program.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/30/us/30colorado.html
After an Augusta, Georgia worker was caught with crack cocaine while on the job, city officials realized it wasn’t his first time to be arrested. Troy Curry, 46, had been released from jail a year before he was hired for cocaine possession and had been arrested for cocaine possession four times.. A criminal background check was not done to discover the conviction.
Tom Wiedmeirer, who is the director of the Utilities Department for the city, said Curry was hired before he became director. Criminal background checks are now done on employees, he said.
http://www.wrdw.com/politics/headlines/99735649.html
New Hampshire background checks did not catch a school district administrator who was once charged with theft. The administrator, Lillian Emerson, was convicted of stealing more than $64,000 in 1997 from her employer. She was later hired as a business administrator.
Even though Emerson resigned, questions about how background checks are conducted remain. Applicants in the school system may have to undergo additional background checks. People that have been convicted of certain felonies are prohibited from being employed by the school system. However, theft is not one of those convictions.
http://www.citizen.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100801/GJNEWS02/708019917/-1/CITNEWS08
