tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57633282482992718952024-03-13T06:04:32.469-04:00Background InvestigationsBackground Investigations, Background check, law enforcement, Hiring, Human resources, www.pebiservices.com, Tyra Hearns, Pebi ServicesTyra Hearns, President of PebiServices.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078175980369410779noreply@blogger.comBlogger94125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5763328248299271895.post-59268989173258131342011-12-15T08:56:00.005-05:002011-12-15T09:03:31.446-05:00Casino investors refuse background checks, may delay opening<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-t1uhsu4MjNg/Tun9uGMrVdI/AAAAAAAAAR8/UVUezzra4dE/s1600/hollywood%252520casino%252520toledo%255B1%255D.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5686354972911556050" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-t1uhsu4MjNg/Tun9uGMrVdI/AAAAAAAAAR8/UVUezzra4dE/s320/hollywood%252520casino%252520toledo%255B1%255D.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><div>A board of directors' refusal to submit<a href="http://pebiservices.com/"> background investigations </a>could push back the opening of the Glass City's new casino. According to The Blade, the Ohio Casino Control Commission sent a letter demanding every member of holding and management companies involved with Hollywood Casino participate in the license application process for casino operators. So far, the casino's investment group, Fortress, has submitted its required application as a company, but ten directors will not submit individual background check applications.</div><br /><div>All personnel of Penn National Gaming Inc., the casino's owner, already submitted individual applications.<br />"The commission has had a number of meetings where it has expressed its desire and set deadlines for filings to the legal representatives of Penn National and Fortress," said Matt Schuler, Ohio Casino Control Commision executive director, to the newspaper. "They have indicated that members of the board of Fortress are holding back their applications to see if legislative changes in the definition of 'holding company' go through the [Ohio] General Assembly."</div><br /><div>Penn faced similar problems with obtaining their casino operator's license and the Casino Control Commission in October.<br /></div><br /><div>Posted by <a href="http://pebiservices.com/">Pebi Services</a> President <a href="http://www.pebiservices.com/html/experience.html">Tyra Hearns </a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Tyra Hearns www.pebiservices.com</div>Tyra Hearns, President of PebiServices.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078175980369410779noreply@blogger.com80tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5763328248299271895.post-74432114131021510272011-12-11T06:21:00.002-05:002011-12-11T06:24:14.484-05:00Cutting Costs Now in Background Checks Could Cost You Later<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tetxSENYzLQ/TuSS2YqE3XI/AAAAAAAAARw/M2JQZ0mT9N8/s1600/11347621-national-criminal-background-checks.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 250px; height: 215px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tetxSENYzLQ/TuSS2YqE3XI/AAAAAAAAARw/M2JQZ0mT9N8/s320/11347621-national-criminal-background-checks.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5684830092677930354" /></a><br /><div><br /></div><div><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica">By Shane Sawyer</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica">Pinnacle</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica">Minimum checks are not enough to safeguard our organizations or our communities. For many industries such as Healthcare and Education, states are requiring a minimum search through state agencies. Unfortunately, the legislators are misinformed as to the effectiveness of such searches and organizations are falsely given a sense that they and their organizations are safe. Fact is, they are not safe from negligent hiring lawsuits, nor are they protecting the community when relying on these minimal checks.</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica">St. James Middle School in South Carolina is now being sued after a social studies teacher had sex with a 13 year old girl. According to The Myrtle Beach Herald, the school ran a check through the State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) and nothing was found. Later it was realized that the teacher, Norbert Ryan, had committed this offense before in Michigan. SLED, as with most state checks, only turns up convictions reported within that state. The School followed protocols mandated by most states yet lives have been destroyed and though the school cites cost as a factor, they will surely pay much more now than a comprehensive background check would have cost.</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica">States continue to require only state or fingerprint checks in Healthcare even after the Office of Inspector General; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services found 92 percent of nursing facilities across the country employed at least one individual with a criminal record. This finding in spite of the fact states were already requiring <a href="http://pebiservices.com/">background checks </a>through their own agencies. This is perhaps the most conclusive proof we have to show state requirements are not enough to ensure protection against negligent hiring and a thorough criminal history report is the best defense.</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica">While state legislators continue to get it wrong, organizations have a responsibility to conduct due diligence in pre-employment background screening to protect against negligent hiring.</p></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Posted by <a href="http://pebiservices.com/">Pebi Services</a> President <a href="http://www.pebiservices.com/html/experience.html">Tyra Hearns </a><div class="blogger-post-footer">Tyra Hearns www.pebiservices.com</div>Tyra Hearns, President of PebiServices.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078175980369410779noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5763328248299271895.post-42169524884707637552011-12-07T09:53:00.007-05:002011-12-07T10:06:35.182-05:00Background Check Policy for Hiring Teachers Questioned in Lawsuit against School District<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JRkEbKRjec8/Tt9_geCNvzI/AAAAAAAAARk/rvUi7zrqWhw/s1600/26584%255B1%255D.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 183px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 250px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5683401450559749938" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JRkEbKRjec8/Tt9_geCNvzI/AAAAAAAAARk/rvUi7zrqWhw/s320/26584%255B1%255D.jpg" /></a> <em><span style="font-size:78%;">Norbert Ryan</span></em><br /><br /><br /><div><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%;font-family:'Tahoma', 'sans-serif';font-size:100%;" >By Amanda Kelley<br />The Myrtle Beach Herald<br /><br />The father of a former St. James Middle School student is suing Horry County Schools over the district’s hiring of a teacher who had sex with the man’s then-13-year-old daughter, according to court records.<br />That teacher, Norbert Ryan, had a sexual relationship with one of his students in Michigan prior to being hired by Horry County Schools, the lawsuit states. Neither the local girl nor her father are identified in the lawsuit, which was filed this week in civil court.<br />Jeff Chandler, the family’s attorney, said information about Ryan’s past could have easily been obtained by Horry County Schools. “The SRO (school resource officer) found it by just doing a little inquiry by calling the former high school in Michigan,” he said. “The school district failed our client in the hiring.”<br />Police said Ryan was a 32-year-old social studies teacher at St. James Middle when he had sex with the girl during the 2009-2010 school year. The illegal relationship led to Ryan’s arrest. He was sentenced to seven years in prison last year after pleading guilty to a charge of second-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor younger than 16. He was ordered to pay court costs and was placed on the central registry of child abuse and neglect.<br />The lawsuit states that the school district was negligent in both the supervision of its students and the screening of prospective hires. Teal Britton, a spokeswoman for Horry County Schools, said the district’s process for handling background checks varies depending on the applicant.<br />“Let’s just say that [someone] teaches somewhere else in the system or they are a new teacher in South Carolina,” she said. “They’ve already gone through a background check as part of their certification.”<br />For those teachers, Britton said, there’s no additional check through the State Law Enforcement Division (SLED).<br />Out-of-state hires are put through a SLED records check, but that search only turns up in-state offenses.<br />Just looking at an in-state criminal history isn’t thorough enough, said Kenneth Trump, a Cleveland-based school security consultant.<br />In cases where teachers have inappropriate relations with students, he said it’s actually common for those teachers’ criminal history records to come up clean.<br />“The words background check and criminal history check are not one in the same,” he said. “A criminal history check is just that. It is a records check of prior crime. A background check should be more comprehensive. It should include a criminal history check, but it should encompass a great deal more, including character references.”<br />Horry County Schools screens out-of-state teachers differently than it does in-state or newly certified ones, Britton said.<br />“There would be reference checks,” she said. “And they have the ability to do more expansive checks if there is a suggestion that that needs to be done.”<br />Although the district can do a more thorough background check, Britton said that doesn’t necessarily happen.<br />“[If] someone certified from another state received very favorable recommendations for employment, [then] there would not necessarily be a national background check,” Britton said.<br />Trump questions whether that practice is sufficient.<br />“What is the trigger to get them to dig further?” he asked. “You have to dig to find the red flag to dig further. If you’re only scratching the surface, then you’re taking transcripts or information that is submitted by the applicant at face value.”<br />The issue of background checks comes down to cost.<br />“With 5,400 employees and the cost of doing those checks, you don’t annually check everyone,” Britton said. “But you do when there is a suggestion for cause to do so.”<br />The cost adds up quickly for the district. Britton said even parents wishing to chaperone field trips are required to have a SLED background check.<br />“It costs us $25 at a minimum to check you to see if it’s OK to be around kids in the classroom,” she said. “You can see those costs add up.”<br />Trump said the district’s explanation sounds familiar.<br />“What school districts historically have not done is a truly thorough background check,” he said. “They do the minimum required under state mandate and they do cursory checks and verifications of employment dates. But typically the schools point out that due to budgetary and staffing restraints they don’t have the resources to do comprehensive background checks.”<br />Many districts pass off troubling teachers on other districts, he said. He calls this “passing the trash.”<br />“Historically school districts, when they have a problem employee or someone suspected of being a problematic employee, instead of prosecuting or terminating that employee they will allow and encourage the employee to resign and then that employee later on moves to other districts,” he said.<br />The only thing that the then-former school district will say is that a person was hired here from this date to that date.”<br />Trump said school districts need to do more detailed background checks.<br />“It’s doing their due diligence and it’s a cultural change,” he said. “If you’re doing a thorough background check, often it can be those things that are not said by a previous employer that can be as much a red flag as those things that are said.”<br />Other things to pay attention to are on paper. Trump said gaps in employment and significant mobility could be reasons to question candidacy, though mobility will change if there is a spouse in the military.<br />“You don’t always see major and frequent movement from town to town and state to state,” Trump said of educators. “If you start seeing a person move, and especially if they’re not moving up the ladder position-wise, that can be a red flag.”<br />He said school districts need to encourage employees to report their suspicions and action should be taken if those questions are confirmed.<br />Britton said Tuesday that the school district had not been served with the family’s lawsuit. She said the district typically doesn’t discuss pending litigation.<br />The school district where Ryan reportedly worked in Michigan referred questions to its human resources division. Calls to that division were not returned.<br style="mso-special-character: line-break"><br style="mso-special-character: line-break">Posted by <a href="http://pebiserices.com/">Pebi Services</a> President <a href="http://pebiservices.com/">Tyra Hearns</a></span></p></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Tyra Hearns www.pebiservices.com</div>Tyra Hearns, President of PebiServices.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078175980369410779noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5763328248299271895.post-27604991245794577092011-11-28T10:05:00.004-05:002011-11-28T10:15:31.275-05:00Federal jobs have stringent background requirements<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iLR1E-DGMqQ/TtOk5TZrX6I/AAAAAAAAARY/u-u5FoJr3YI/s1600/paperwork%255B1%255D.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 213px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5680064859411799970" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iLR1E-DGMqQ/TtOk5TZrX6I/AAAAAAAAARY/u-u5FoJr3YI/s320/paperwork%255B1%255D.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><div><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN" lang="EN"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">By Lily Whiteman</span></span></span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN" lang="EN"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:100%;">Clearance process is exhaustive, but can lead to higher salary, more opportunity</span><?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></span></b></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN" lang="EN"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">All applicants who accept offers for federal jobs must undergo a basic background investigation that — with some variation according to the opening — is designed to ensure that that they have no glaring deal-breakers in their backgrounds, such as legal problems.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN" lang="EN"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">But more and more jobs with federal agencies and government contractors are requiring security clearances that involve more exhaustive investigations than basic background investigations. A security clearance is an authorization to a fed or contractor to access classified materials needed to do a particular job.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN" lang="EN"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">You cannot apply for a security clearance yourself. To obtain a security clearance you must work for an agency or contractor that requests a security clearance for you because your job requires access to classified information.</span></span></span><br /><br /></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN" lang="EN"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong><em>The main types of clearances are:<o:p></o:p></em></strong></span></span></span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><b><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN" lang="EN">Confidential:</span></b><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN" lang="EN"> Provides access to information or material that may cause damage to national security if disclosed without authorization.</span></span></span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><b><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN" lang="EN">Secret:</span></b><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN" lang="EN"> Provides access to information or material that may cause serious damage to national security if disclosed without authorization.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><b><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN" lang="EN">Top secret:</span></b><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN" lang="EN"> Provides access to information or material that may cause exceptionally grave damage to national security if disclosed without authorization.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><b><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN" lang="EN">Sensitive compartmented information:</span></b><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN" lang="EN"> Provides access to intelligence information and material that may require controls for restricted handling within compartmented channels.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN" lang="EN"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Some jobs are open only to applicants who already possess security clearances. But other openings are open to applicants who don’t have security clearances but would be expected to qualify for them. In government lingo, such applicants are called “clearable.” Offers to clearable selectees are usually made on a contingency basis, i.e. the job offer is not solid until the selectee passes his security investigation, and will be rescinded if he fails the investigation.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN" lang="EN"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">If you receive a contingency offer, remember that your new job is not a done deal until you pass your security clearance. Even if you consider your record squeaky clean, your job offer may be rescinded if snags are unexpectedly uncovered or if other problems unrelated to your background, such as unanticipated budget woes in your target agency, kill your deal.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN" lang="EN"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">The higher a job is up the security clearance ladder, the more exhaustive its associated background investigation will be. But all investigations for security clearances require applicants to complete Standard Form 86, which is accessible on the Office of Personnel Management website, www.opm.gov. Investigations also include interviews with the applicant, the applicant’s current and former friends, neighbors, colleagues, bosses, psychologists and psychiatrists; medical examinations to ensure the applicant’s medical and mental fitness; checks of the applicant’s travel history, foreign contacts, current and previous residences, academic records, military record, credit history, court and police records, employment history; and a polygraph test.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN" lang="EN"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Depending on your target job and employer, you might need a security clearance to advance. Also, feds and contractors possessing clearances of “secret” and above are generally more marketable and generally earn significantly higher salaries than their counterparts whose jobs don’t require security clearances.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN" lang="EN"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">What types of jobs require clearances? Jobs addressing financial management, scientific research, diplomacy, defense, auditing, law enforcement and intelligence are most likely to require security clearances. Indeed, virtually everyone who works for the FBI — even administrative assistants — must pass security clearances.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN" lang="EN"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:100%;">Also, certain types of jobs are particularly likely to require security clearances — such as human resources personnel who access staffers’ personnel information, accountants who access confidential financial information, auditors who access legal information, and information technology professionals who access secure systems, to name just a few.</span></span></p></div><br /><br /><div><span style="font-family:arial;">Posted by </span><a href="http://pebiservices.com/"><span style="font-family:arial;">Pebi Services</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> President </span><a href="http://www.pebiservices.com/html/experience.html"><span style="font-family:arial;">Tyra Hearns</span> </a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Tyra Hearns www.pebiservices.com</div>Tyra Hearns, President of PebiServices.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078175980369410779noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5763328248299271895.post-87654021914291079452011-11-26T14:39:00.002-05:002011-11-26T14:42:23.438-05:00Gun-buyer background checks missing data<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mszamUSKD44/TtFBGpSD7oI/AAAAAAAAARM/ZpACb-yX_wc/s1600/article-page-main-ehow-images-a04-ie-ic-gun-background-check-laws-800x800.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 225px; height: 220px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mszamUSKD44/TtFBGpSD7oI/AAAAAAAAARM/ZpACb-yX_wc/s320/article-page-main-ehow-images-a04-ie-ic-gun-background-check-laws-800x800.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5679392187507535490" /></a><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:small;"><div class="cxArticleHeader" style="margin-top: 5px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; width: auto; "><h1 class="articleHeadline" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-size: 30px; "><br /></h1></div></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:13px;">By Steve Bennish and Tiffany Y. Lattas</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:13px;">Dayton Daily News</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:small;"><div id="cxArticleText" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; width: auto; float: none !important; "><div id="cxArticleBodyText" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0.25em; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0.25em; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.4em; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; ">Ohio screens out mentally ill people who try to buy firearms, but the state isn’t reporting all known drug abusers to a national system that could prevent them from buying guns, a first-of-its-kind survey of 50 states found.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0.25em; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0.25em; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.4em; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; ">Mayors Against Illegal Guns said in its report “Fatal Gaps” that federal agencies and states in some cases ignore federal law and fail to report records about potentially dangerous people to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, or NICS.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0.25em; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0.25em; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.4em; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; ">Analysis of FBI data showed that millions of records of seriously mentally ill people and drug abusers are missing from the NICS database because of lax and inconsistent reporting among the states.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0.25em; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0.25em; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.4em; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; ">Mayors, including leaders from Dayton, Riverside and Brookville, are advocates for tougher federal, state and local legislation against illegal firearm sales and ownership.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0.25em; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0.25em; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.4em; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; ">Ohio has identified 26,876 mental health cases and forwarded those since the state passed a law in 2004. But 23 states and the District of Columbia have submitted fewer than 100 mental health records to the federal database.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0.25em; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0.25em; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.4em; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; ">Seventeen states submitted fewer than 10 mental health records, and four states haven’t submitted any records.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0.25em; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0.25em; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.4em; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; ">Substance abuse records also are underreported nationwide, and while many Ohio drug abusers show up in NICS when arrested and convicted, others fall through the cracks.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0.25em; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0.25em; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.4em; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; ">Ohio Attorney General’s Office spokesman Dan Tierney said the state updates arrests and convictions daily through the Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation. State law, however, lacks a provision for reporting all known drug abusers to the federal database, he added. Ohio’s mentally ill show up in the system when they are ordered by a court to receive mental health treatment.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0.25em; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0.25em; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.4em; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; ">Instances of drug abuse that fall short of a conviction — such as failing a drug test when applying for a state job, telling a state agency you have a drug problem, or court diversion into a drug rehab program — aren’t reported because Ohio doesn’t have the infrastructure “to submit evidence of substance abuse outside of arrest and conviction records,” the mayors group said.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0.25em; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0.25em; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.4em; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; ">The report said that although federal regulations and policy require that failed drug tests, single drug-related arrests or admission of drug use within the past year temporarily disqualify a person from possessing a gun, “the vast majority of states are unaware that these records should be shared with NICS.”</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0.25em; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0.25em; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.4em; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; ">Between 1999 and 2009, NICS processed 100 million background checks and blocked an estimated 1.6 million permit applications and gun sales to people prohibited from possessing guns.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0.25em; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0.25em; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.4em; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; ">A working system to screen out dangerous mentally ill people doesn’t always prevent potential killers from getting firearms even though it is illegal to provide a firearm to someone who has been judged to have been mentally ill to such a degree that hospitalization is necessary.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0.25em; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0.25em; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.4em; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; ">Following the shooting death of Clark County Deputy Suzanne Hopper New Year’s Day in a Clark County trailer camp by Michael Ferryman, a 57-year-old with a history of mental illness and gun violence, a father and daughter were indicted for giving Ferryman the shotgun he used. Ferryman was shot dead in the incident and a German Twp. officer was wounded.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0.25em; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0.25em; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.4em; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; ">Jean Blessing, 81, of Englewood, was charged with complicity to having weapons under disability. Blessing’s daughter and Ferryman’s girlfriend, Maria Blessing, was indicted on the same charge and on a charge of obstructing justice for lying to investigators about the gun. She was later sentenced to five years in prison. Monday, prosecutors dropped charges against Jean Blessing, saying he was incompetent to stand trial.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0.25em; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0.25em; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.4em; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; ">Ferryman had been ruled not guilty by reason of insanity in another shooting at police officers in Morgan County in 2001. He was sent to a psychiatric hospital and then conditionally released. He was supposed to be monitored by mental health services.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0.25em; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0.25em; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.4em; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; ">Clark County Sheriff Gene Kelly and Prosecutor Andy Wilson called for creating a database of those with severe mental illness coupled with a history of violence, especially violence against police, similar to the sex offender database.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0.25em; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0.25em; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.4em; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; ">“Most of the guns used in crimes are obtained illegally or through casual sales such as garage sales or classified ads,” Kelly said. His department created a database to include about five individuals who have been adjudicated criminally insane, but a national database doesn’t exist.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0.25em; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0.25em; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.4em; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; ">Kelly said a state and national database could alert officers on traffic stops or other action when a person is mentally ill and the officer should consider different tactics that could lead to a different outcome.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0.25em; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0.25em; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.4em; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; ">Wilson said Ferryman was in the NICS system and would not have been able to purchase a gun legally. Wilson said when Hopper responded to a shots fired call at Enon Beach Recreation Park on New Year’s Day, she didn’t realize she was walking into a situation with a man who had fired shots at police in the past.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0.25em; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0.25em; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.4em; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; ">“The key is giving street officers more information about the people who have been adjudicated mentally ill. They register sex offenders. Anyone can access a sex offender database; but there’s no mechanism nationally for officers to know they’re coming upon a mentally ill, violent person,” Wilson said.</p></div></div></span></div><div><br /></div>Posted by <a href="http://pebiservices.com/">Pebi Services</a> President <a href="http://www.pebiservices.com/html/experience.html">Tyra Hearns </a><div class="blogger-post-footer">Tyra Hearns www.pebiservices.com</div>Tyra Hearns, President of PebiServices.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078175980369410779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5763328248299271895.post-41946419043040649122011-11-25T10:40:00.009-05:002011-11-25T10:49:38.159-05:00New Jersey town considers criminal checks on fire department applicants<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-s5O3Z52vrTQ/Ts-3_VGXMzI/AAAAAAAAARA/IfqzBJOOEM0/s1600/ParkRidge.gif" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 294px; height: 294px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-s5O3Z52vrTQ/Ts-3_VGXMzI/AAAAAAAAARA/IfqzBJOOEM0/s320/ParkRidge.gif" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5678959953760957234" /></a><br /><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;font-size:12px;"><div class="storyHeadline5" style="position: relative; margin-top: -13px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; width: auto; height: auto; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); "><h1 class="mainheadline" style="font-family: Georgia; font-weight: normal; font-size: 30px; line-height: 37px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); "><br /></h1></div><div class="storyauthorv2" style="position: relative; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 5px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; width: auto; height: auto; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; text-align: left; ">By Kathyrn Burger </div><div class="storyauthorv2" style="position: relative; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 5px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; width: auto; height: auto; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; text-align: left; ">Pasack Valley Community Life</div></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial;color:#787878;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" text-transform: uppercase; white-space: nowrap;font-size:11px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:100%;color:#ffffff;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-transform: uppercase; white-space: nowrap; "><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 20px;">Criminal background checks will be part of the vetting process for those who want to join the ParkRidge </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 20px;">Volunteer Fire Department if Ordinance 2011-034, approved on first reading at the Monday, Nov. 14 council meeting, is approved on second reading at the Tuesday, Nov. 29 meeting. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 20px; ">Many municipalities in the state have adopted similar ordinances. ParFire Chief Bob Ludwig said that since 9/11, background checks for fire departments have become common. "Hillsdale has had one for years and Woodcliff Lake recently approved theirs," he said. Heightened concerns about security in the wake of the terrorist attacks were the impetus for the requirement, he said. "One of our police officers who lives in Hillsdale, applied to join their fire department. He had to have a complete background check – and he was a resident and a police officer."</span></span><div id="storybody" style="position: relative; margin-top: 24px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; width: auto; height: auto; line-height: 20px; "><p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:100%;color:#ffffff;">Volunteer fire department chiefs decide whether or not to recommend an applicant after the applicant has been interviewed and provided references. Ludwig said, "Years ago, when the municipality was smaller, it was easier to determine a person's background. Often, we knew who they were before they applied. Now, the town has grown and there are more people, many of whom have only lived here a few years." He said it is difficult to make an educated judgment about an applicant when all they have to go on is the interview and information they provide. "We check references, but don't have anything else to go on. And usually, whoever the chief recommends is approved by the council."</span></p><p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:100%;color:#ffffff;">That responsibility is another reason why the criminal background check is important. All firefighters get the same training and maintain their active status by fulfilling the same requirements, whether they are paid or not. "It's up to the chief to make sure that department members are trustworthy" and can back one another up, Ludwig said, adding that liability issues factor into the equation. "On the federal, state and local levels, there's no difference between a paid firefighter and a volunteer firefighter," as far as liability is concerned, he said. "The requirements are the same whether a firefighter is paid or is a volunteer," he said, and so are the risks.</span></p><p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:100%;color:#ffffff;">The costs associated with the background check, including fingerprinting and the actual investigation into an applicant's history, will be paid by the department. "We don't want to discourage people from applying by having an enrollment fee," he said. But that amount is small in comparison to the cost for each new member, all of which is borne by the department. "There's the training at the academy, turnout gear that can run $4,000, a radio – that's about $500. It's a big investment," he said.</span></p><p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:100%;color:#ffffff;">When someone applies, the department's officers conduct the interview and explain what is involved in membership. Ludwig said, "We go over all the expectations and answer their questions. They have to know what they are getting involved in. There are a lot of prerequisites. They have to go the [Bergen County Law and Public Safety Institute] Fire Academy – that's a six-month process – and pass. Then they are probationary members. There are attendance requirements, annual physicals, a dress code, long hair and beards are not permitted. When we're done with the interview, the applicant knows what's expected of them. With the investment we're making, we don't want someone to decide after a couple of months, 'This isn't for me,'" because they didn't know what was required, he said.</span></p><p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:100%;color:#ffffff;">The ordinance specifically addresses types of criminal conduct. It reads, in part, "Any person convicted of a crime in the first or second degree… shall be ineligible for membership" in the department. In addition, it specifies that, "Any person convicted of a crime of the third or fourth degree… may be eligible for membership… subject to review and recommendation of the Borough Council and the Board of Fire Officers."</span></p><p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:100%;color:#ffffff;">Results of criminal background checks are returned to the Park Ridge Police Department, which, after review, will provide a written statement to the borough administrator stating that either the applicant has no disqualifying criminal history, or a summary of any disqualifying criminal charges or convictions, according to the ordinance. The borough administrator will advise the chief of the fire department if the applicant meets the standards for membership or does not. Applicants who do not meet the standard may meet with the borough administrator and borough attorney to review the basis for the determination.</span></p><p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:100%;color:#ffffff;">The importance of criminal background checks – even for law enforcement personnel seeking to serve as volunteer firefighters – is driven not only by the desire to have reliable, trustworthy people as members, but by the demands of insurance carriers, Ludwig said. "Driver's license transcripts are reviewed by the borough yearly. Even when members are driving themselves to a call, they are covered by insurance the moment a call comes in, even at home, and even if they aren't driving a municipal vehicle. We have to be sure they're arriving here 'legally.'"</span></p><p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:100%;color:#ffffff;">Ludwig said, "The borough government makes the final decision on the suitability of applicants; the fire department recommends people. The background check is another tool for gauging a person's worthiness to serve."</span></p></div></div>Posted by <a href="http://pebiservices.com/">Pebi Services</a> President <a href="http://www.pebiservices.com/html/experience.html">Tyra Hearns </a><div class="blogger-post-footer">Tyra Hearns www.pebiservices.com</div>Tyra Hearns, President of PebiServices.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078175980369410779noreply@blogger.com72tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5763328248299271895.post-21085015104912110762011-11-21T08:01:00.003-05:002011-11-21T08:07:32.387-05:00Casting assistant's past prompts calls for screening<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Sskl0OzdYDs/TspMcmH1jiI/AAAAAAAAAQ0/XL8jYIUbTw8/s1600/66202643%255B1%255D.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5677434334407396898" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Sskl0OzdYDs/TspMcmH1jiI/AAAAAAAAAQ0/XL8jYIUbTw8/s320/66202643%255B1%255D.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div><span style="font-size:130%;">By Dawn C. Chmielewski<br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;">Los Angeles Times<br /></span></div><br /><div><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri', 'sans-serif'; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-: minor-bidi"><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:130%;">A convicted child molester working as a Hollywood casting director began cooperating with a Los Angeles Police Department investigation, while child protection advocates called for background checks for those with access to child actors.<br /><br />Jason James Murphy, who served prison time for the 1996 kidnapping and molesting of an 8-year-old boy in suburban Seattle, has spent the last decade working as a casting assistant. He helped find young actors for movies including the science fiction hit "Super 8" and the forthcoming comedy "The Three Stooges."<br /><br />The casting directors who hired Murphy — who obtained casting jobs under the name Jason James — said they were unaware of his criminal conviction. LAPD representatives said Friday that, although Murphy is under investigation, there is no evidence that he had committed new crimes.<br /><br />Murphy's Hollywood career has caused anxiety among parents of child actors on the film and TV audition circuit.<br />"They're just freaking out," said Anne Henry, co-founder of BizParentz Foundation, a nonprofit support group for parents whose children work in the entertainment industry. Henry said she spent the morning dealing with frantic parents worried that Murphy might have been alone with their children during casting sessions and could have obtained photos or videotapes of them.<br /><br />"It's the one place in our industry when the kids are alone," Henry said. "In casting situations, the parents are never in the room for an audition. Some guy comes up. They take your kid down the hall and disappear for 20 minutes. You never know."<br /><br />Murphy, 35, is cooperating with an investigation into whether he complied with requirements for registered sex offenders, said Det. Christopher Merlo of the department's West Bureau Registration Enforcement and Compliance Team. "It's a complicated investigation because we have to do a lot of research on where he's been and what he's done," Merlo said, adding that detectives so far have no evidence of additional victims.<br /><br />Murphy has declined repeated requests for interviews. Henry and other advocates called for fingerprinting and background checks for anyone having contact with minors, as is customary for coaches, Boy Scout leaders and child-care providers.<br /><br />"The industry has to recognize we have any number of predators who have insinuated themselves into the world of children. They are dance teachers, drama teachers, gymnastics teachers, coaches — as we have seen at Penn State," said Paul Petersen, a former child actor who founded A Minor Consideration, a nonprofit advocacy group for young performers. "And no one is doing any checking."<br /><br />Others called on unions to do more thorough screening.<br /><br />Acting coach and manager Betty Bridges has been vocal about pressing the unions to conduct thorough checks on casting agents and directors. Her son Todd, who starred on the NBC comedy "Diff'rent Strokes," was sexually abused as a child by his publicist. "The unions need to do a background check," she said. "They need to make sure that every time they put in a casting director, they need to know what her or his background is."<br />Since 2008, under the name Jason James, Murphy has been a member of Teamsters Local 399, whose business agent, Ed Duffy, said, "We're very saddened by this situation, if in fact it's true."<br /><br />Local 399 also represents location managers and studio drivers. But unlike drivers, Duffy said, casting directors do not have to be licensed and are not subject to drug and alcohol testing. "It's up to the employer to vet these people," he added</span></span></div><br /><br /><div>Posted by <a href="http://pebiservices.com/">Pebi Services</a> President <a href="http://www.pebiservices.com/html/experience.html">Tyra Hearns </a></div><br /><br /><br /><div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Tyra Hearns www.pebiservices.com</div>Tyra Hearns, President of PebiServices.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078175980369410779noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5763328248299271895.post-36716557326464991482009-07-30T07:44:00.005-04:002009-07-30T07:50:15.134-04:00Only 1 background check now needed to work at 3 South Florida ports<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z1FPGRD5M1o/SnGIrRdj-PI/AAAAAAAAAQY/fCAVZXCpz6I/s1600-h/miami_port.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5364218908178118898" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 210px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z1FPGRD5M1o/SnGIrRdj-PI/AAAAAAAAAQY/fCAVZXCpz6I/s320/miami_port.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><br />By Patrick Danner<br />The MIami Herald<br /><br />Port workers and truck drivers will only need one Florida <a href="http://pebiservices.com/">criminal background check </a>to work at South Florida's three seaports.<br />Port directors at Port Everglades, the Port of Miami and the Port of Palm Beach signed a memorandum of understanding Wednesday to begin accepting one background check for entry into all three seaports.<br />Previously, workers had to pay for and complete a separate Florida criminal background check at each seaport to obtain access. Workers who already have had the <a href="http://pebiservices.blogspot.com/">background check </a>and have access cards from one of the seaports should go to the other ports' ID offices to obtain an access card. </div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Posted by <a href="http://pebiservices.com/">Pebi Services</a> President <a href="http://www.pebiservices.com/html/experience.html">Tyra Hearns </a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Tyra Hearns www.pebiservices.com</div>Tyra Hearns, President of PebiServices.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078175980369410779noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5763328248299271895.post-73664283493830767812008-12-10T07:05:00.002-05:002008-12-10T07:17:58.814-05:00Mayor wants Commissioner to resign over background investigation scandal<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_z1FPGRD5M1o/ST-za2AcBUI/AAAAAAAAAP8/GZwtu-71I1o/s1600-h/stacks-of-files-on-desk%5B1%5D.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5278134562056832322" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 211px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_z1FPGRD5M1o/ST-za2AcBUI/AAAAAAAAAP8/GZwtu-71I1o/s320/stacks-of-files-on-desk%5B1%5D.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><br /><br />By Deborah Highland<br />The Tennessean<br /><br />Mayor Linda Elam on Monday night asked that Wilson County Commissioner Chris Sorey resign from office because a TBI audit showed he had used a state Web site to run unauthorized <a href="http://pebiservices.com/">background checks</a> on her and other city workers and elected officials.<br /><br />Vice Mayor Will Sellers, whose records also were checked, asked that Sorey be ousted from office and be brought up on ethics charges by his fellow county commissioners.<br /><br />Sorey was elected in August to his first term on the Wilson County Commission representing District 2, which includes part of Mt. Juliet.<br /><br />Elam and Sellers made the public statements after the Mt. Juliet commission met in a secret "executive" session before the public meeting.<br /><br />Sorey was working as a police officer for the Smyrna/Rutherford County Airport Police when he misused the state's Criminal Justice Portal to look at private records, TBI spokeswoman Kristin Helm said last month.<br /><br />The TBI found the misuse during an audit of the portal and notified Smyrna Airport police.<br /><br />Helm would not identify those whose information was sought, but Mt. Juliet's city manager, Randy Robertson, confirmed that his records, along with those of Elam, Sellers, storm-water coordinator Gary Gaskin, public-works secretary Amy Rooker, assistant public-works director Shannon Joiner, public-works project manager Casey Binion and chief building inspector Gary Branham were checked.<br /><br />Elam added during Monday's meeting that the records of another county commissioner also were sought through the portal. She did not name that commissioner.<br /><br />"I have no idea why Commissioner Sorey would want to have any <a href="http://backgroundinvestigations.blogspot.com/">background information </a>on me, especially my Social Security number … ," Sellers said. "I and my wife feel that Commissioner Sorey has invaded our very private lives and has compromised our identities and financial security."<br /><br />Sellers called for Sorey and his former employer to be prosecuted.<br />The Web site is the same site fired state trooper Ronnie Shirley is accused of using to run unauthorized checks on as many as 182 private citizens and state employees.<br /><br /><strong>Sorey says he is victim</strong><br /><br />Sorey said late last month that the TBI audit was "nothing more than political payback" after he raised concerns over adherence to fire codes in homebuilding in Mt. Juliet.<br /><br />"There is no reason or rationale for running a <a href="http://pebiservices.com/">background check </a>on the mayor, who is never involved day-to-day in city business," Elam said after the Smyrna Airport police notified her that her records had been checked.<br /><br />Sorey was placed on unpaid administrative leave Nov. 6, said John Black, executive director of the Smyrna/Rutherford County Airport Authority. On Nov. 13, Sorey resigned, saying he was taking a higher-paying job. He said he was no longer working in law enforcement.<br /><br /><strong>No charges pending<br /></strong><br />The TBI gave its information to Rutherford County District Attorney William Whitesell, who said no charges are pending. The TBI removed the airport police department's access to the site, Helm said.<br /><br />Black did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment. He said in late November that Sorey was a good employee who worked for the airport for more than two years.<br /><br />The TBI audit was sparked by a request from Mt. Juliet Police Chief Andy Garrett, who had received a copy of an e-mail from Gaskin, who was concerned that his personal information had been compromised.<br /><br />Gaskin sent the e-mail after he was notified through the human resources department that Sorey had asked to see his personnel records. Gaskin's job is not related to fire codes inspections.<br /><br />"I was the guy who blew the lid off of the fire codes issues in Mt. Juliet," Sorey said late last month.<br /><br />"Any activity that has taken place regarding the alleged misuses of the integrated criminal justice portal system was done in connection with my investigation of the past and ongoing fire code violations" in Mt. Juliet, he said then. "I am very concerned that I now seem to be the subject of the investigation instead of officials addressing any possible safety issues."<br /><br />Robertson said fire code issues were brought to the city's attention last summer, and the city has been inspecting every home built between 2006 and 2008. As of Nov. 21, the city had inspected 909 homes, 49 of which were in violation of one specific code. Robertson said builders have corrected the problems in 36 homes.<br /><br />Posted by <a href="http://pebiservices.com/">Pebi Services</a> President <a href="http://www.pebiservices.com/html/experience.html">Tyra Hearns </a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Tyra Hearns www.pebiservices.com</div>Tyra Hearns, President of PebiServices.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078175980369410779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5763328248299271895.post-61096933033347986862008-11-18T16:37:00.003-05:002008-11-18T16:45:15.575-05:00Police Officer facing discipline over background checks<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z1FPGRD5M1o/SSM3YxprpEI/AAAAAAAAAPk/dWtFVstpdHE/s1600-h/ILlisl1%5B1%5D.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 201px; height: 247px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z1FPGRD5M1o/SSM3YxprpEI/AAAAAAAAAPk/dWtFVstpdHE/s320/ILlisl1%5B1%5D.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5270116887738164290" /></a><br /><br />Lisle Illinois officials want to fire a former police officer of the year after allegations surfaced that he made numerous illegal <a href="http://pebiservices.com">background checks </a>for a school district and worked a private job when he should have been at Lisle High School or home on sick leave, records show.<br /><br />Officer Brett Lauten, a 10-year veteran of the force, was suspended without pay after a Lisle Fire and Police Board meeting Nov. 7.<br /><br />The Police Department liaison at Lisle High School from 2004 through at least 2007, Lauten also has worked as a private security guard for the Olive Trees Condominium Association in Naperville since 2005, according to an administrative complaint released to the Tribune under the Freedom of Information Act.<br /><br />Lauten, 32, of Naperville, referred questions to his attorney, Richard Reimer, who declined to comment.<br /><br />The officer's "egregious" actions make up "a pattern of continuing misrepresentation" that calls "into question Officer Lauten's honesty and integrity," according to the complaint, filed by Police Chief Michael Damico. <br /><br />Lauten did <a href="http://backgroundinvestigations.blogspot.com">background checks </a>on behalf of Lisle School District 202 personnel through a state police database that legally can only be used for law-enforcement purposes, according to the complaint. Through Lauten, district personnel used the database as a "back door" way of quickly checking on people working for the district, coming into school buildings or contracting with the district.<br /><br />Records showed that Lauten ran 91 such checks, although when questioned by police officials, he claimed to have made 8 to 10.<br /><br />"Lauten circumvented ... state law" and helped district employees shirk "their legal obligations to the children attending their schools," the complaint states.<br /><br />Use of the database bypassed a slower method of checking fingerprints that state law requires school districts to follow.<br /><br />Lauten called in sick "numerous days" that he worked as a security guard for the condo association, adding up to almost four weeks in 2006 alone, according to the complaint. He was paid for the sick days and for work by the condo association, as well as for working at the high school and the condo complex at the same time, the complaint states.<br /><br />Damico and Lisle High School Principal Ron Logeman declined to comment. Lisle Community Unit School District 202 officials did not return calls for comment Friday.<br /><br />The Fire and Police Board must hold a hearing on the charges within 30 days.<br /><br />The allegations regarding the state database have been referred to state police for investigation. In the past, the DuPage County state's attorney's office has filed criminal charges in similar cases, a spokesman said.<br /><br />Lauten was one of two police officers of the year in Lisle in 2005 and honored in 2000 along with another officer for saving a man's life after the man had a heart attack, according to news reports<br /><br />Posted by <a href="http://pebiservices.com/">Pebi Services</a> President <a href="http://www.pebiservices.com/html/experience.html">Tyra Hearns </a><div class="blogger-post-footer">Tyra Hearns www.pebiservices.com</div>Tyra Hearns, President of PebiServices.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078175980369410779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5763328248299271895.post-30221587531459800802008-11-14T12:04:00.004-05:002008-11-14T12:13:55.153-05:00Policing the air marshals: Crimes within the ranks raises questions about agency's hiring<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_z1FPGRD5M1o/SR2xykPX3UI/AAAAAAAAAPc/qSB_jlVLAbM/s1600-h/ICEfederalAirMarshalPin%5B1%5D.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_z1FPGRD5M1o/SR2xykPX3UI/AAAAAAAAAPc/qSB_jlVLAbM/s320/ICEfederalAirMarshalPin%5B1%5D.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5268562621373078850" /></a><br />A recent article published in the Novemeber 13th edition of USAToday, concerning the hiring and background selection process of U.S Air Marshals, paints a disturbing picture of who is policing the friendly skies, and even more disturbing how they were hired. You can see the entire article by clicking <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2008-11-12-air-marshals_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip">HERE</a><br /><br /><br />Posted by <a href="http://pebiservices.com/">Pebi Services</a> President <a href="http://www.pebiservices.com/html/experience.html">Tyra Hearns </a><div class="blogger-post-footer">Tyra Hearns www.pebiservices.com</div>Tyra Hearns, President of PebiServices.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078175980369410779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5763328248299271895.post-27848952305427710182008-11-09T01:40:00.001-05:002008-11-09T01:40:01.147-05:00Nearly 100 security guards at immigration facility hired without background investigations<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_z1FPGRD5M1o/SRXx8wbfKuI/AAAAAAAAAPU/-7iaTHVU0u4/s1600-h/Picture400%5B1%5D.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 301px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_z1FPGRD5M1o/SRXx8wbfKuI/AAAAAAAAAPU/-7iaTHVU0u4/s320/Picture400%5B1%5D.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5266381365374298850" /></a><br /><div><br />By Gene Johnson<br />Seattle Times<br /><br />A privately run immigration lockup in Tacoma hired nearly 100 security guards without <a href="http://pebiservices.com/">background investigations</a>, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement didn't catch the practice for two years, court documents show.<br /><br />Sylvia Wong, an administrator in charge of hiring at the Northwest Detention Center, pleaded guilty this week in federal court in Tacoma to one count of making a false statement, for lying to investigators. In her plea agreement, she admitted that soon after starting work in November 2005, she began hiring guards without <a href="http://pebiservices.com/">background investigations </a>"because of the pressure she felt to get security personnel hired at the NWDC as quickly as possible."<br /><br />ICE auditors discovered early this year that 92 guards had been hired without the checks. The agency acknowledges that some of the guards have been fired following subsequent background checks, but won't say how many.<br /><br />"In response to this investigation we have implemented a multi-tiered vetting process ... so that no contractor or federal employee has sole responsibility to process and approve employment documents," ICE spokeswoman Lorie Dankers said Thursday. "We have taken proactive steps to prevent this from happening again."<br /><br />The Northwest Detention Center opened in 2004 and holds about 1,000 people accused of immigration violations, mainly detainees from Alaska, Oregon and Washington. It's run by the for-profit, Florida-based GEO Group Inc., with yearly reviews to ensure the facility meets ICE standards.<br /><br />A GEO Group spokesman has not returned several inquiries from the AP about Wong's case, the latest on Thursday. Her lawyer did not immediately return a call.<br /><br />On Thursday, ICE announced that 10,602 aliens had been deported from Alaska, Oregon and Washington in fiscal 2008 - a one-year record for the region and a jump of more than 35 percent from the previous year.<br /><br />Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas Brown said any pressure that Wong felt to hire guards quickly was self-imposed and did not come from higher-ups. If anything, he said, she was mostly trying "to make people happy."<br /><br />When guards are hired at the detention center, they are supposed to undergo a preliminary <a href="http://pebiservices.com/">background check</a>. If they pass, they are given "entry on duty" forms allowing them to begin work pending a more thorough check, which can take several months to more than a year.<br /><br />The plea agreement said that when Wong hired the guards, she fabricated "entry on duty" forms, allowing them to start work without any <a href="http://pebiservices.com/">background check</a>.<br /><br />In February, ICE discovered that the guards had been hired without the checks and searched Wong's office. The next month, when agents questioned her, she insisted she had not manufactured the forms - hence, the "false statement" charge against her.<br /><br />Brown said he did not know precisely how many of the guards Wong hired had been fired, but characterized the number as relatively small.<br /><br />Asked what the number was, Dankers said, "I'm going to decline comment on that." Asked why, she replied, "Because I am."<br /><br />She later called back to say policies prohibited her from discussing staffing levels - even though the number of fired guards has nothing to do with current staffing.<br /><br />According to the plea agreement, the detention center has up to 200 security, administrative, medical, food service and maintenance workers.<br /><br />Wong faces zero to six months when she is sentenced in February.<br /><br />Posted by <a href="http://pebiservices.com/">Pebi Services</a> President <a href="http://www.pebiservices.com/html/experience.html">Tyra Hearns </a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Tyra Hearns www.pebiservices.com</div>Tyra Hearns, President of PebiServices.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078175980369410779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5763328248299271895.post-20829125615970616932008-11-07T06:41:00.004-05:002008-11-07T15:42:01.873-05:00New Jersey Senate passes new background investigation bill<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_z1FPGRD5M1o/SRSn5UpSERI/AAAAAAAAAOw/oXz3fM36BG4/s1600-h/nj-counties-new%5B1%5D.gif"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 181px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_z1FPGRD5M1o/SRSn5UpSERI/AAAAAAAAAOw/oXz3fM36BG4/s320/nj-counties-new%5B1%5D.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5266018467539194130" /></a><br />By Lauren Mortenson <br />The New Jersey Senate unanimously passed a bill last week that will revise the current <a href="http://pebiservices.com">background check</a> requirements for all school employees who come in contact with students. <br /><br />Sponsored by Sens. Loretta Weinberg, Barbara Buono and Shirley K. Turner, bill S-110 will revise the current criminal <a href="http://backgroundinvestigations.blogspot.com">background investigation </a>requirements for employees by requesting that all teachers and school district employees undergo a criminal <a href="http://backgroundinvestigations.blogspot.com">background check</a>. Besides the faculty and administration, people who are considered school employees also include bus drivers, cafeteria workers and janitorial staff. <br /><br />The bill revises criminal history record checks for public and nonpublic school employees and bus drivers, and expands the list of offenses that would disqualify an employee from working at a school. <br /><br />Buono said revisions to <a href="http://pebiservices.com">background check</a> procedures are something she had been thinking about for a while. <br /><br />"There were loopholes that needed to be closed," she said. <br /><br />Since 1986, candidates for employment in New Jersey schools have been required to submit to criminal history background checks. <br /><br />The bill states that "in order to assure the safety of school students and others in our schools, persons who come in contact with students or school property must possess the character and integrity necessary for their positions." <br /><br />The bill also states that it is imperative that all employees, including those hired prior to 1986, and candidates for employment undergo criminal history record checks that are updated regularly. <br /><br />All employees hired prior to 1986 as well as those hired before 2003 (before fingerprints were able to be taken electronically) would have two years to be fingerprinted by the state Bureau of Investigation. <br /><br />The original criminal history <a href="http://pebiservices.com">background investigation</a> was established in 1986, and the law at the time included a "grandfather" provision that said employees of a district who were hired before that date did not have to have their records checked. <br /><br />According to the senators, applicants were fingerprinted before 2003, but once the background checks were complete, the files were destroyed. <br /><br />Currently, the federal government does not have an electronic fingerprint database, so federal criminal background checks would be required every two years. <br /><br />Additions were made to the list of offenses that would disqualify applicants and employees from working in schools. The current law provided that all first- and second degree crimes and other specified crimes would permanently disqualify a person from working in schools. <br /><br />The senators added the crimes of leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death, human trafficking, peering [peering into windows or other openings of dwelling places], violating the Anti-TerrorismAct, and employing a juvenile in the commission of a crime. <br /><br />"It's to protect our children from any form of danger," she said. "That's what the expansion clarifies." <br /><br />The bill also adds an additional regulation to school bus drivers. <br /><br />Information on all drivers or substitute drivers of vehicles operated by the Board of Education must be filed by the secretary of the board with the executive county and superintendent of schools. The information must include each driver's name, Social Security number, certification of a valid school bus driver's license, a <a href="http://pebiservices.com">criminal history record check</a>, and evidence of a check for the driver's record of any alcohol- or drug-related motor vehicle violations. <br /><br />The school bus driver will be permanently disqualified from his or her job if any offenses during employment result in conviction. <br /><br />If any employee currently working in a New Jersey school facility is found with a criminal record that interferes with the provisions of the bill, he or she will be fired. <br /><br />"Unless their crimes were expunged, which varies on the severity of the crime, they would be terminated," said Buono. <br /><br />The reasons for employee termination will be identified in a written notice. Any employee who fails to comply can be subject to a fine of up to $500 for each incidence of noncompliance. <br /><br />The bill is now headed to the Assembly for consideration. Buono said she is hopeful that it will pass and is encouraging that it be considered as soon as possible. <br /><br /> Posted by <a href="http://pebiservices.com/">Pebi Services</a> President <a href="http://www.pebiservices.com/html/experience.html">Tyra Hearns </a><div class="blogger-post-footer">Tyra Hearns www.pebiservices.com</div>Tyra Hearns, President of PebiServices.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078175980369410779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5763328248299271895.post-91655128971221618402008-10-31T11:03:00.003-04:002008-10-31T11:15:21.517-04:00Ohio Police Chief upset over allegations concerning background investigation<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_z1FPGRD5M1o/SQsg-9cUHUI/AAAAAAAAAOo/bch72sfEftM/s1600-h/police_banner%5B1%5D.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5263336855529856322" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 63px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_z1FPGRD5M1o/SQsg-9cUHUI/AAAAAAAAAOo/bch72sfEftM/s320/police_banner%5B1%5D.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><br />By Dave Greber<br />Dayton Daily News<br /><br />Westchester Township Police Chief John Bruce is demanding trustees here apologize for comments they made in response to an internal investigation that suggested he instructed his nephew to lie on an application.<br /><br />A letter was sent Tuesday from Bruce's attorney, Mark Mezibov, to township attorney Donald Crain, that said "...Trustees have publicly impugned Col. Bruce and stigmatized his professional reputation by imputing to him acts of dishonesty and unprofessional conduct."<br /><br />In the letter, Mezibov states: "Col. Bruce demands that the trustees issue a prompt public apology and correction at the next meeting of the Board of Trustees."<br /><br />But at least one trustee has said a public apology isn't warranted.<br /><br />"I don't believe the board has taken any action for which they should apologize to anybody," said Trustee Catherine Stoker.<br /><br />As of this afternoon, trustees George Lang and Lee Wong, declined to comment.<br /><br />Mezibov said his client's professional career could be negatively impacted by comments trustees made in response to the internal investigation that appeared in the Oct. 25 edition of the Journal-News.<br /><br />Said Wong Oct. 25: "I have lost total confidence and trust in him as a police chief. He's not allowed to make any major command decisions. This is short of him being relieved of his command."<br /><br />The attorney said Bruce should at least have an opportunity to clear his name in a public hearing if an apology is denied.<br /><br />The investigation, launched late last month, concluded Donald Gatliff, 27, of West Chester Twp., was not forthcoming to investigators about his <a href="http://pebiservices.com/">background</a>, and that Bruce advised him to do so.<br /><br />Gatliff applied with the township in March after hearing about an open position in the police department. But a subsequent <a href="http://backgroundinvestigations.blogspot.com/">background check</a> showed he provided false or misleading information on his application, during initial interviews and again during the internal investigation.<br /><br />The internal investigation showed Bruce advised Gatliff to omit his history of drug use and not to disclose on the application that he was related to Bruce and Bruce's wife, Denise, who is the director of the township's communications and information technology department.<br /><br />The township's nepotism policy prohibits department heads from hiring immediate family members or people who live under the same roof, neither of which applied to Gatliff's hiring.<br /><br />Gatliff has never been convicted on a drug charge, although he admitted to investigators he has used various illegal drugs as recently as 2002, according to the <a href="http://pebiservices.com/">background investigation</a>, but he was convicted for unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and operating a vehicle without a license as a juvenile.<br /><br />Gatliff was nearing the end of completing his ninth week of the 18-week training program at the Ohio State Highway Academy.<br /><br />Bruce also said he was trying to protect Gatliff's information from becoming public.<br /><br />Bruce, chief since 2000, is not likely to face disciplinary action. Township records show Bruce has been responsible for hiring 58 people during his tenure. He said that none of his previous hires — or attempts to hire — led to an internal investigation.<br /><br />Posted by <a href="http://pebiservices.com/">Pebi Services</a> President <a href="http://www.pebiservices.com/html/experience.html">Tyra Hearns </a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Tyra Hearns www.pebiservices.com</div>Tyra Hearns, President of PebiServices.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078175980369410779noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5763328248299271895.post-67773292853819341842008-10-21T18:19:00.004-04:002008-10-21T21:02:18.961-04:00Stratford Connecticut Police Captain demoted over leaked background information<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_z1FPGRD5M1o/SP57ltBItMI/AAAAAAAAAOI/qC2VW0KW2Aw/s1600-h/seal.gif"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_z1FPGRD5M1o/SP57ltBItMI/AAAAAAAAAOI/qC2VW0KW2Aw/s320/seal.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5259777302485054658" /></a><br /><br />By Richard Weizel<br />Connecticut Post<br /><br />Police Union President Joseph McNeil was demoted from the rank of captain to sergeant Tuesday and suspended without pay three months for his alleged role in the illegal leak earlier this year of <a href="http://backgroundinvestigations.blogspot.com">personal background </a>on former police applicant Christian Miron, the brother of Mayor James R. Miron. <br /><br />The mayor said Tuesday he recused himself from "the entire disciplinary process" because the investigation was related to his brother's personnel file.<br /><br />"The discipline imposed is due to the severity of this offense," Chief Administrative Officer Suzanne McCauley, who was the hearing officer in the McNeil case and made the final decision, said in a statement Tuesday. <br /><br />McCauley said she strongly considered firing McNeil, a 17-year-veteran of the local Police Department.<br /><br />"As the hearing officer in this matter I made the decision," McCauley said. "The town of Stratford has no further comments, as it is a personnel matter."<br /><br />But the local police union had plenty to say, issuing an immediate statement blasting the town's action as a violation of its collective-bargaining agreement, and arguing that the decision is based on "political pressures." It vowed an immediate appeal of the ruling.<br /><br />"The Stratford Police Local 407, Council 15, AFSCME does not agree with the conclusions of the town of Stratford in this matter," according to the statement. "By its own admission the town's conclusions are derived wholly from circumstantial evidence.<br /><br />"The union will immediately grieve this matter because the town has not sustained the evidentiary burden necessary to sustain the just cause requirement found in the collective bargaining agreement," the statement says. The union "is confident that when these facts are reviewed by an impartial panel, free of political pressure, Joe McNeil will be vindicated, reinstated to the rank of captain and made whole for salary lost as a result of the suspension."<br /><br />McNeil, who could not be reached for comment Tuesday, said prior to the disciplinary hearing that he "feared the worst." However, he strongly denied he had any involvement with the release of a <a href="http://pebiservices.com">personnel background check </a>on Christian Miron, 29, who was issued a conditional offer of employment as a police officer earlier this year. However, a detailed, nine-page background investigation raised questions about whether Miron is fit for police work.<br /><br />All of the vacant police jobs have subsequently been filled.<br /><br />The information leaked from Miron's personnel file shows he scored well on the written and oral exams, as well as the recommendation by a psychologist who interviewed him and recommend he be hired, although expressing "strong reservations.''<br /><br />McNeil's suspension and two-rank demotion, considered "very unusual," according to McCauley, comes a few weeks after more than 70 police officers converged on Town Hall to show support for the president as he went behind closed doors for the disciplinary hearing.<br /><br />McNeil was accused by town officials and police brass of having a role in leaking Miron's <a href="http://pebiservices.com">background information</a> to the press and Town Council members, or that he knew who did. <br /><br />Some union members, including McNeil's brother, police Detective David McNeil, said previously they believe the union president was "railroaded" and "made a scapegoat" in the investigation.<br /><br />David McNeil claimed that top police officials threatened to fire his brother.<br /><br />"They have even tried to get him to implicate the former union president and a council member in the leak, and threatened his job if he didn't cooperate," said David McNeil, a 19-year department veteran. "My brother doesn't know who leaked the file, and they are trying to get him to lie." <br /><br />Joseph McNeil took over in May for former Union President Shawn Farmer after he resigned from the department. A statement released by the union at that time said, in part, that in his capacity as union president, McNeil was the target of a "witch hunt" after he "quickly discovered irregular and highly improper conduct involving senior members of the Town of Stratford Police Department. Since McNeil began questioning those improper activities, a deliberate campaign has been orchestrated against him, the union said.<br /><br />"With respect to the <a href="http://backgroundinvestigations.blogspot.com">background investigation</a> regarding the mayor's brother, Christian Miron, Capt. McNeil emphatically denies he released said report to any member within the Police Department, to any member of the media, or any member of the general public," the union states.<br /><br />Posted by <a href="http://pebiservices.com/">Pebi Services</a> President <a href="http://www.pebiservices.com/html/experience.html">Tyra Hearns </a><div class="blogger-post-footer">Tyra Hearns www.pebiservices.com</div>Tyra Hearns, President of PebiServices.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078175980369410779noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5763328248299271895.post-76819251825777321022008-10-14T13:28:00.004-04:002008-10-14T13:35:20.744-04:00Revealing background Investigations on Alabama college workers conducted despite objections from the Alabama Education Association<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_y9IMT8g96cM/SPTYOKo1uAI/AAAAAAAAAos/w6nKc96-AZA/s1600-h/AEALogo%5B1%5D.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_y9IMT8g96cM/SPTYOKo1uAI/AAAAAAAAAos/w6nKc96-AZA/s320/AEALogo%5B1%5D.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5257064402933626882" /></a><br />The reults of <a href="http://pebiservices.com">background checks </a>on employees of the two-year college system prove the state Board of Education was right to ignore Alabama Education Association objections. <br /><br />The AEA did everything it could to keep college officials from finding out whether any of their teachers or staff members had felony <a href="http://backgroundinvestigations.blogspot.com">criminal records</a>. The teachers' organization lobbied against the proposed <a href="http://pebiservices.com">background checks</a>, and when that failed it dragged the two-year system into court. <br /><br />The lawsuit resulted in the system telling employees that providing Social Security numbers –– which would have made the checks more accurate –– was optional. <br /><br />Even so, after <a href="http://backgroundinvestigations.blogspot.com">checking the background</a> of more than 9,300 employees, officials identified 73 who had been convicted of felony charges, including sexual assault and murder. <br /><br />The system appears to be handling the revelations in an appropriate manner. Those people whose convictions were 20 or so years ago, and who have lived exemplary lives since then, were allowed to stay on the job. Eight others were terminated, four left voluntarily, and six found their contracts not renewed. The fate of 32 others is still being decided. <br /><br />Granted, more than 100 employees were flagged as possibly having a criminal record when they didn't have one. The AEA is understandably hot about that. <br /><br />Nevertheless, AEA's criticism of Chancellor Bradley Byrne and the school board for wrongly accusing the innocent employees seems disingenuous. The mistakes are understandable, and no one was fired because of a false accusation. <br /><br />The bottom line is that at least 18 people who should never have been working for the system will no longer be in a position to harm students or compromise the colleges in any way, and that proves the <a href="http://pebiservices.com">background checks</a> were good policy. <br /><br />Posted by <a href="http://pebiservices.com/">Pebi Services</a> President <a href="http://www.pebiservices.com/html/experience.html">Tyra Hearns </a><div class="blogger-post-footer">Tyra Hearns www.pebiservices.com</div>Tyra Hearns, President of PebiServices.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078175980369410779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5763328248299271895.post-25750952426515584662008-10-08T17:07:00.003-04:002008-10-08T17:13:09.524-04:00New Jersey job applicant falsifies law enforcement letters that enabled his employment<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_HY-p_nAm-FI/SO0iBbKXUNI/AAAAAAAAABE/fHtfrRy6YcA/s1600-h/Go%2520to%2520jail%25201%5B1%5D.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_HY-p_nAm-FI/SO0iBbKXUNI/AAAAAAAAABE/fHtfrRy6YcA/s320/Go%2520to%2520jail%25201%5B1%5D.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5254893748077678802" /></a><br />A 53-year-old Ocean County man has been charged with forging letters from law enforcement officials, authorities said yesterday. <br /><br />Silvester Colonna of Manahawkin was arrested on Friday and charged with two counts of criminal impersonation and three counts of forgery, Union County Prosecutor Theodore J. Romankow said. Bail for Colonna was set at $40,000. <br /><br />Investigators in the prosecutor's office said Colonna was hired by a Hillside company that specializes in international trade. The company performed a <a href="http://pebiservices.com">background check </a>on Colonna before he was hired, which revealed several criminal convictions. Colonna denied he had a <a href="http://backgroundinvestigations.blogspot.com">criminal background</a> and, in an attempt to hide his past, forged several letters, authorities said. One letter was ostensibly from the Middlesex County prosecutor stat ing that the Silvester Colonna employed by the company was not the same Silvester Colonna with the criminal convictions, authorities said. <br /><br />Noticing several inconsistencies and grammatical mistakes in the letters, company officials contacted the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office, which denied knowledge of the letters and referred the case to Union County. <br /><br />Colonna was arrested after a two-month investigation. <br /><br />Posted by <a href="http://pebiservices.com/">Pebi Services</a> President <a href="http://www.pebiservices.com/html/experience.html">Tyra Hearns </a><div class="blogger-post-footer">Tyra Hearns www.pebiservices.com</div>Tyra Hearns, President of PebiServices.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078175980369410779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5763328248299271895.post-26984680424443350992008-10-03T10:27:00.005-04:002008-10-03T10:38:54.165-04:00Further response to Indiana's lax background investigations on teachers<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z1FPGRD5M1o/SOYuNVLytrI/AAAAAAAAAN4/Qo90o7HNoiY/s1600-h/indiana_county_map%5B1%5D.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z1FPGRD5M1o/SOYuNVLytrI/AAAAAAAAAN4/Qo90o7HNoiY/s320/indiana_county_map%5B1%5D.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5252936821934044850" /></a><br /><br />The overwhelming majority of Indiana's 62,000 teachers are remarkable people who do their best to teach and protect our children. But there have been repeated reports from districts around the state of teachers who have threatened children, physically assaulted them, or have criminal records. Any of those behaviors would have gotten a teacher fired - or prevented them from being hired - in most other states.<br /><br />Not in Indiana, according to the Indianapolis Star investigation. Here, <a href="http://backgroundinvestigations.blogspot.com">background checks</a> for teachers are limited to looking at newspaper clippings that report arrests within the state. Little is done to expand that check nationwide, as most other states do. "That is beyond appalling and utterly negligent." said <a href="http://pebiservices.com">Tyra Hearns</a> of Pebi Sevices a re known <a href="http://pebiservices.com">background investigation </a>firm<br /><br />States like Georgia, Ohio and Utah have state police conduct <a href="http://backgroundinvestigations.blogspot.com">background investigations</a>, and some states go as far as to conduct FBI <a href="http://backgroundinvestigations.blogspot.com">background checks</a> before allowing anyone to teach in a public school.<br /><br />And it's not as if the problem is unknown. Indiana's teachers unions and the state school board association advocate stronger <a href="http://backgroundinvestigations.blogspot.com">background checks</a> and adding more crimes to the list of those reported to the state that could lead to firing teachers. But there is disagreement about where the responsibility on those checks should be. <br /><br />Instead of a state-led effort, say through the state police, there are some who want that power to remain with local school districts. And that is the problem. Too many local school districts try to bury their mistakes by allowing teachers to resign rather than fire them. If a teacher is fired, the public can ask to see the reason why. If a teacher resigns, that information is kept confidential and that teacher is free to move on to another district.<br /><br />That is precisely the kind of thing that needs to end. Reports of children being abused or intimidated by their teachers need to stop and one way that can happen is to make sure school districts aren't hiring people with a checkered past.<br /><br />Posted by <a href="http://pebiservices.com/">Pebi Services</a> President <a href="http://www.pebiservices.com/html/experience.html">Tyra Hearns </a><div class="blogger-post-footer">Tyra Hearns www.pebiservices.com</div>Tyra Hearns, President of PebiServices.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078175980369410779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5763328248299271895.post-69798852180391219152008-10-01T07:05:00.004-04:002008-10-03T10:05:47.232-04:00Guards at Seattle area detention center hired without background investigations<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_z1FPGRD5M1o/SONbicvbSYI/AAAAAAAAANo/FlTNCh0wAuw/s1600-h/Lockdown-Dissent%5B1%5D.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_z1FPGRD5M1o/SONbicvbSYI/AAAAAAAAANo/FlTNCh0wAuw/s320/Lockdown-Dissent%5B1%5D.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5252142237832923522" /></a><br /><br />By Gene Johnson<br />The Seattle Times<br /><br />Federal authorities are taking a second look at security guards at the Northwest Detention Center, a privately run immigration lockup in Tacoma, after finding that some were hired without preliminary <a href="http://pebiservices.com">background checks</a><br /><br />"Clearly this is a cause for concern," said Virginia Kice, a spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. "We take great pride in the safety and the security at our facilities, and we need to make sure the people responsible for the safety and security of our facilities are themselves beyond reproach."<br /><br />Authorities released few details, citing an ongoing investigation, but a federal charge was filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court, accusing Sylvia Wong, a human relations specialist with GEO Group Inc., the private contractor that runs the center, of lying to ICE internal investigators when she claimed in April she did not falsely generate documents.<br /><br />The Northwest Detention Center opened in 2004 and holds about 1,000 people accused of immigration violations, mainly detainees from Alaska, Oregon and Washington. This summer, a report by an immigrant rights advocacy group alleged mistreatment of detainees there, including excessive strip searches and overcrowding. ICE officials dismissed it as a "work of fiction."<br /><br />Guards hired at the center are supposed to go through a preliminary <a href="http://backgroundinvestigations.blogspot.com">background investigation</a>, after which an "entry on duty" memorandum allows them to begin work pending the completion of a full <a href="http://pebiservices.com">background check</a>, which can take several months to more than a year, Kice said.<br /><br />Wong is accused of fabricating the documents, allowing guards to begin work without the preliminary <a href="http://backgroundinvestigations.blogspot.com">background check</a>. Kice said she couldn't discuss why that allegedly was done, how long it might have been going on or in how many instances guards began working without <a href="http://pebiservices.com">background checks</a>.<br /><br />"If someone was brought on board who had a prior criminal history ... that's one of the issues we're examining closely," she said, adding that in such a case "we'll take follow up action."<br /><br />Wong is still on the job, Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas Brown said.<br /><br />Wong's lawyer was out of the office Tuesday, and Wong did not return a message left on her work voice mail. GEO Group, based in Boca Renton, Fla., did not return e-mails seeking comment.<br /><br />The study on conditions at the lockup was released by Seattle-based OneAmerica, an immigrant rights advocacy group, and the International Human Rights Clinic at Seattle University Law School. They based it largely on interviews with detainees, family members and immigration lawyers.<br /><br />"This really just points to what we had in our report, that there's no oversight over these detention centers, and contractors can get away with all kinds of things," Pramila Jayapal, executive director of OneAmerica, said Tuesday.<br /><br />"We'd like to know what kind of checks were done ... to make sure they don't have guards that might be prone to be abusive," Jayapal added.<br /><br />The report came out soon after ICE announced an increase of nearly 40 percent in deportations out of Washington, Oregon and Alaska over the first nine months of the fiscal year. More than 7,300 people were deported from the region in that period.<br /><br />Posted by <a href="http://pebiservices.com/">Pebi Services</a> President <a href="http://www.pebiservices.com/html/experience.html">Tyra Hearns </a><div class="blogger-post-footer">Tyra Hearns www.pebiservices.com</div>Tyra Hearns, President of PebiServices.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078175980369410779noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5763328248299271895.post-75546155272456659702008-09-29T12:14:00.004-04:002008-09-29T12:26:18.095-04:00Background Investigations in Indiana have failed the students<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_z1FPGRD5M1o/SOEBOSTEe-I/AAAAAAAAANg/-fIrSfgeM2c/s1600-h/education.gif"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_z1FPGRD5M1o/SOEBOSTEe-I/AAAAAAAAANg/-fIrSfgeM2c/s320/education.gif" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5251479985432329186" /></a><br />By Andy Gammill<br />Indianapolis Star<br /><br />The 7-year-old tried to keep her teacher's hands off her.<br /><br />She faked stomachaches, hoping to stay home from school.<br /><br />When that failed, a prosecutor later said, the girl wore dresses so the teacher couldn't slip his hand down the back of her pants.<br /><br />It was a battle she might have been spared in another state: Four years earlier, two different girls in different classes accused the same teacher, Jeffrey Baber, of the same thing. Nothing happened after police discounted those claims.<br /><br />In Georgia, the accusations would have been enough to spark a review by state investigators.<br /><br />In Ohio, the allegations would have been put on record for parents to check.<br /><br />In Utah and other states, the complaints likely would have cost him his educator's license.<br /><br />In Indiana, he kept teaching.<br /><br />The case highlights flaws in the state's approach to protecting schoolchildren. The Indiana Department of Education's efforts are largely limited to conducting <a href="http://backgroundinvestigations.blogspot.com/">criminal background checks</a> within Indiana and checking newspaper clippings for educators who have been arrested. That information helps the state revoke 10 to 20 licenses a year.<br /><br />Other states go much further to find and remove teachers who could put children at risk.<br /><br />Most do more <a href="http://pebiservices.com/">extensive nationwide criminal checks</a>. Some require police and district officials to notify state authorities when a teacher has been investigated, arrested or accused of misconduct.<br /><br />Indiana relies mainly on local school systems to root out dangerous teachers, a method that doesn't always work. Districts sometimes bury records of embarrassing or thorny cases in their files, hiding information from the public and other schools looking to hire a teacher.<br /><br />Indiana's problems are no surprise to legislators, superintendents, school boards or members of the state's Board of Education. They've known for years that schools may unknowingly hire teachers who pose a threat to students.<br /><br />"It scares the hell out of me," said Todd Huston, Fishers, a member of the State Board of Education. "The problem now is that we don't really have sustained policies. It's on a district-by-district basis."<br /><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Attempts to strengthen the safeguards have stalled.</span><br /><br />What's left is so ineffective that no one can say how many of the state's 62,000 licensed teachers have <a href="http://backgroundinvestigations.blogspot.com/">criminal records</a>, or whether predators are making the rounds of Indiana schools.<br /><br />An Indianapolis Star review of Marion County police reports found dozens of current teachers with arrests for crimes including battery on a police officer, domestic battery, repeated traffic violations, soliciting a prostitute and drunken driving -- some as many as two or three times. Although they may be alarming to parents, some of these offenses might not be grounds for revocation of a teaching license.<br /><br />The Star's investigation also found four cases where state laws didn't keep teachers out of classrooms even after more serious problems arose.<br /><br />The result? Children taught by a teacher arrested on a charge of cocaine dealing. A teacher who brought marijuana to school. One with a long history of intimidating students.<br /><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">And Baber.</span><br /><br />After a jury convicted him of molesting the 7-year-old in 2005, he pleaded guilty to molesting another girl.<br /><br />And another one. He had been molesting Beech Grove schoolchildren for at least four years.<br /><br />The district's insurers paid out $740,000 to three victims.<br /><br />Baber finally lost his license to teach.<br /><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Background checks</span><br /><br />Limited Indiana search lets Florida drug dealer in school<br /><br />Michael Warner's references described him as an energetic, charming role model, and officials at Irvington Community School were excited to hire him.<br /><br />The new science teacher passed a <a href="http://pebiservices.com/">criminal history check</a> by the charter school, and the state had stopped running checks on him because he held a lifetime teaching license.<br /><br />Even if the Department of Education had screened him again, the checks run by the school and the state review only Indiana court records and would have missed his arrest in Florida on a charge of dealing cocaine.<br /><br />Florida officials said Warner pleaded guilty to possessing cocaine with intent to sell and was sentenced to 90 days in jail and three years of probation.<br /><br />More than 40 states require comprehensive <a href="http://backgroundinvestigations.blogspot.com/">background checks</a> that turn up arrests across the country before teachers can be licensed to teach. Indiana does check a national database of teachers who have lost their licenses, but beyond that, state law requires a "limited criminal history" check that reviews Indiana court records.<br /><br />With the limited statewide name-based check, old arrests without a disposition won't turn up, and some counties had spotty records on entering data into the system.<br /><br />After a private investigator tipped off Irvington Community School in 2006, Warner resigned and the state took away his license.<br /><br />"We've deepened our interview and reference checks," said Timothy Ehrgott, the school's president. "We learned our lesson."<br /><br />Outside Indiana, that task often is handled by state officials rather than local schools. Utah and Maine require their state police agencies to keep names of educators in an electronic system that alerts officials when a teacher is arrested.<br /><br />A coalition of state governments that maintains a national database of teacher misconduct also recommends more stringent checks.<br /><br />The National Association of State Directors of Teacher Education and Certification urges states to use state and FBI checks for all new teachers, and every five years for all educators, director Roy Einreinhofer said.<br /><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Indiana does neither.</span><br /><br />A few school districts feel so strongly that Indiana's system is too weak that they pay for national searches on their own.<br /><br />"We don't think it goes deep enough into data," said John Ellis, director of the state superintendents' association. "The thing that frustrates school officials is there's too many holes in the system."<br /><br />No one tells the state<br /><br />School drug arrest details not shared, so teacher kept license<br /><br />When police arrived at School 83 in Indianapolis one evening in May 2005, according to their report, a teacher told them he was high on marijuana.<br /><br />They asked him whether he had drugs on him, the report said, and he said they were in his car. Officers searched the car, found marijuana and arrested the teacher, Eric J. Potthast, on charges of possession of marijuana and paraphernalia.<br /><br />Potthast took a deal from the court, agreeing to pay a fee, admit his guilt and attend behavior-modification classes. After he did so, the charges were dropped.<br /><br />Indiana, unlike other states, does not require schools and police to report most teacher misconduct to state officials.<br /><br />So Indianapolis Public Schools did not. Potthast resigned a few months later.<br /><br />Potthast disclosed the misdemeanor on his next application for a teaching license. But what he didn't say and what state officials don't appear to have known was that the incident happened at a school, an offense that cost at least one other Indiana teacher his license.<br /><br />So Potthast's license was renewed, despite the drugs he brought to school. That left it up to a school district to decide whether to put him in a classroom.<br /><br />He was rehired the next year by IPS, which struggles to find teachers and substitutes to fill classrooms when teachers quit. He was fired last month for failing to keep his teaching license up to date.<br /><br />"Was it wise to hire him?" IPS spokeswoman Kim L. Hooper said. "On behalf of the district, I would say no. But I know we also struggle to find subs in this district."<br /><br />Prosecutors and superintendents must tell the state about misbehaving teachers only if they are convicted of a short list of felonies: kidnapping, dealing drugs or sex crimes against children.<br /><br />Even those cases can stay off the state's radar if there's no conviction or the teacher pleads guilty to lesser charges. If a teacher is arrested on a charge of murder, raping an adult, assault, possessing child pornography or most other crimes, no one is required to tell state education officials.<br /><br />"Ideally we would want to be notified anytime anybody holding a teacher license gets arrested," said Kevin McDowell, general counsel for the Indiana Department of Education. "Some states do that."<br /><br />Indiana teachers who are arrested for many crimes must report a conviction to their school district, but the districts have no obligation to tell anyone else.<br /><br />In other states, teachers are required to report their own arrests to the state, and police must tell education officials when a teacher commits a crime. Some hire teams of investigators that do nothing but look into teacher misconduct.<br /><br />The Indiana Department of Education relies on calls from parents reading newspaper articles and a service that reviews newspapers for arrests of teachers.<br /><br />If there's no article, the state never knows.<br /><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Quiet resignations</span><br /><br />School let teacher with past of intimidation quit, get another job<br /><br />Lawrence Central High School history teacher Charles E. Stallworth's dispute with one boy turned ugly three years ago at a Northside movie theater where the boy worked.<br /><br />The theater manager called police after the teen said his teacher had come in, threatened him and then made a phone call.<br /><br />Worried for the boy's safety, the manager hid the boy in an office. On video, they watched as Stallworth met two men who arrived at the theater and handed them money, according to a probable cause affidavit. Those men asked other employees where they could find the boy and then staked out the employee entrance, the affidavit said.<br /><br />When police arrived, they ordered the two men to leave and questioned Stallworth about the incident. Despite the video evidence, he said he made no phone calls at the theater and talked to no one while he was there, the court records said.<br /><br />Stallworth pleaded guilty to lying to police about the incident, but a felony intimidation charge was dropped. He quietly retired.<br /><br />It wasn't the first time he had been accused of intimidating students. He was suspended for two days in 2001 after the district substantiated a girl's claim that he hit her on the back so hard he left a red mark.<br /><br />"Your behavior on November 3, 2000, is not acceptable and you are hereby reprimanded for your action," an administrator wrote to him. "In addition, this incident seems to be one in a long line of other incidents of an intimidating nature towards students."<br /><br />In a statement this past week, Lawrence Township Schools said Stallworth had planned to fight efforts to fire him and that an agreement letting him retire got him out of the classroom and prevented him from suing the district or the student.<br /><br />Stallworth moved to Alaska and got a teaching job in Anchorage.<br /><br />Like the other teachers highlighted here, Stallworth could not be reached or did not return messages left at phone numbers listed in court documents or public directories.<br /><br />State officials said Lawrence Township Schools officials recommended against revoking Stallworth's license because the misdemeanor was "unrelated" to his teaching responsibilities. That and his retirement allowed him to keep his license.<br /><br />That doesn't seem right to Marcia Riley, whose son Stallworth threatened. She wishes the district had fired him and the state taken away his teaching license. The whole situation was "swept under the rug," she said.<br /><br />Riley, whose son is now a Marine serving in Iraq, said the incident at the movie theater shattered her trust in teachers.<br /><br />"They're supposed to protect your children," she said. "In fact, he was putting my child in harm's way intentionally."<br /><br />When school districts let teachers resign, it prevents the public from seeing records of their misconduct, which must be released if they are fired. And it becomes easier to get another teaching job if the teacher doesn't have to disclose a dismissal.<br /><br />Such outcomes happen in cases more serious than Stallworth's, too. Bob James, an Indianapolis attorney, said he has handled three or four cases where school districts paid settlements to children victimized by teachers but no charges were filed, no licensing action was taken and teachers quietly quit.<br /><br />He could not reveal names of teachers or districts, he said, because the settlement agreements included confidentiality clauses.<br /><br />That kind of secrecy is why districts shouldn't have the last word in deciding to let teachers resign when they face termination, said Edward Eiler, a state Board of Education member and superintendent of Lafayette Schools. Eiler suggests that Indiana districts be required to report such cases for further investigation, as required in other states.<br /><br />Even the risk of costly legal bills or unseemly public disputes should not prevent districts from firing teachers whose conduct merits dismissal, said Martha McCarthy, an Indiana University professor who specializes in education law.<br /><br />"A lot of school leaders will take the path of least resistance," she said, "and the path of least resistance is to counsel the employee to resign."<br /><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Prospects for changes</span><br /><br />Many support stronger system, but past reform tries didn't work<br /><br />Bills have been introduced in the state legislature the past several years to make changes to the teacher licensing system, but none has been successful.<br /><br />Those bills, which proposed requiring FBI background checks or ordering courts to tell state education officials about criminal teachers, appear to have become ensnared in other issues or bogged down.<br /><br />The state's top educator thinks Indiana does a good job overall protecting children, but she said she'd like to see changes to the law to allow her department to issue formal public reprimands and to require courts or police to report when teachers break any law.<br /><br />Superintendent of Public Instruction Suellen Reed said the state opted not to do FBI checks years ago because of the expense and difficulty of getting usable fingerprints they require.<br /><br />"The overall system is protecting our children," she said. "The people that get in trouble haven't been in trouble before usually when we find them. It screens out the obvious people. That's what we want."<br /><br />The state's teachers union backs strengthening background checks, adding more crimes to the list of those reported to the state and requiring school districts to fire teachers who have hurt children. The organizations representing superintendents and school boards largely agree.<br /><br />"The system could be improved if the initial background check included the national databases and sex offender registries," said Dan Clark, deputy director of the Indiana State Teachers Association.<br /><br />But even the groups that support strengthening Indiana's ability to screen out problem teachers want to include limits to protect teachers' rights or want to preserve local school boards' abilities to make their own decisions.<br /><br />Richard Wood, the Democratic candidate for state superintendent of public instruction and a former superintendent, argues that it's largely an issue for local school boards.<br /><br />"You just have to deal with those situations on a case-by-case basis," he said. "I'm not advocating any change. I would not initiate anything to make the process more lenient or anything to make it more stringent. The law we have in place is working at present."<br /><br />State Rep. Robert Behning, R-Indianapolis, disagrees. His constituents, he said, would blame him just as much as the School Board if a felon ended up in a classroom.<br /><br />Behning, the ranking Republican on the House Education Committee, said he was interested in proposing a bill this legislative session that would require FBI background checks for educators.<br /><br />"The state definitely should have a role in it," he said. "I'm not an advocate of big government, but I believe it is the responsibility of this state. . . . I do believe that we've tried to do what was right, but I don't believe we've gone far enough."<br /><br /><br />Posted by <a href="http://pebiservices.com/">Pebi Services</a> President <a href="http://www.pebiservices.com/html/experience.html">Tyra Hearns </a><div class="blogger-post-footer">Tyra Hearns www.pebiservices.com</div>Tyra Hearns, President of PebiServices.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078175980369410779noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5763328248299271895.post-76988825615822371912008-09-29T01:06:00.000-04:002008-09-29T01:06:00.597-04:00Bucknell University contemplates instituting faculty background investigations<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_HY-p_nAm-FI/SN5bIMuyyNI/AAAAAAAAAA8/d7LGoaVU1qs/s1600-h/bucknell.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_HY-p_nAm-FI/SN5bIMuyyNI/AAAAAAAAAA8/d7LGoaVU1qs/s320/bucknell.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5250734411975149778" /></a><br /><br />By Lily Beauvilliers<br />The Bucknellian<br /><br />The University is considering conducting <a href="http://pebiservices.com">background checks </a>on finalists for faculty positions.<br /><br />Human Resources (HR) suggested the move after examining <a href="http://backgroundinvestigations.blogspot.com/2008/09/colleges-heighten-background.html">trends in peer schools</a>, said Marcia Hoffman, executive director of Human Resources.<br /><br />Four checks are being considered: <a href="http://pebiservices.com">criminal background,</a> national sex offender registry, education credential and <a href="http://pebiservices.com">employment verification.</a><br />The University has been conducting <a href="http://backgroundinvestigations.blogspot.com">background checks </a>on all staff since April 2001 and began a pilot program testing senior staff, including the new chief information officer, provost and dean of students, in April 2007.<br /><br />“We were trying it out on them,” Hoffman said.<br /><br />The process to implement faculty checks was halted after HR spoke with the Faculty and Academic Personnel Committee (FAPC) last spring.<br /><br />“Members of our committee are concerned that <a href="http://backgroundinvestigations.blogspot.com">background checks</a> are expensive, and it seems unlikely that they will do much to make Bucknell safer,” said Geoff Schneider, associate professor of economics and chair of FAPC, in an e-mail.<br /><br />Schneider also raised concerns that the University couldn’t compete with other employers if it began background checks.<br /><br />“Many faculty care very deeply about academic and personal freedom, so we are concerned that we might turn off the best applicants ... by instituting an overly intrusive background check policy,” he said.<br /><br />Currently, the University does not officially verify an applicants’ education before offering employment.<br /><br />A search committee consisting of members of the department and someone of a different ethnicity or gender reviews the applications, Hoffman said.<br /><br />The committee writes a “short list” approved by the Affirmative Action Officer Linda Bennett and deans.<br /><br />These applicants are interviewed, and a recommendation is made.<br /><br />“The hiring official does talk to references. Those conversations check the academic credentials, but there is no official check,” said Tom Evelyn, director of media relations.<br /><br /><a href="http://backgroundinvestigations.blogspot.com">Background checks</a> would be conducted after an applicant is already chosen. “If discrepancies arise in the background check reports, HR would provide a copy of the report to the individual, and then notify the search committee chair the respective dean, and the provost for their consideration and deliberation,” Hoffman said.<br /><br />The University considers the nature of the convictions, how many there have been, the date and how a conviction impacts the duties of a position.<br /><br />“You might find the time served was sufficient punishment, but might also look into their background to see if there is a larger issue,” University General Counsel Wayne Bromfield said.<br /><br />All convictions would not be treated equally.<br /><br />“If we had someone that came up in the National Sex Offender registry, we would not put them on our campus. Minor traffic violations? Not a major consideration,” Hoffman said.<br /><br />Before background checks are implemented, HR and FAPC will clarify language added to the background check policy and faculty application.<br /><br />“It is likely that this issue will eventually come before the full faculty as a committee report,” Schneider said.<br /><br />Current chair of the faculty Tony Massoud, associate professor of political science, declined to comment due to lack of information.<br /><br />Martin Ligare, associate professor of physics and former chair of the faculty, expressed his concern over the possibility of <a href="http://pebiservices.com">background checks.</a>“Broadly targeted background checks on a routine basis are antithetical to the ideals of an academic institution,” he said.<br /><br />According to Ligare, the University should not act as an arm of the law.<br /><br />“It’s not our job to punish people,” he said.<br /><br />Andrea Stevenson Sanjian, associate professor of political science, feels faculty should be informed about the decision process.<br /><br />“I am generally uncomfortable with [faculty background checks] so far, and nobody has made any effort to change this. And I haven’t talked to anyone else who thinks this is a great idea either,” she said.<br /><br />Hoffman is confident <a href="http://pebiservices.com">background checks</a> will be conducted soon.<br /><br />“We are hopeful that, with the additional language, the FAPC will support this effort, and that a more formal approval process will not be necessary,” she said.<br /><br />The University views background checks as part of a responsible hiring process and a common trend among our peer schools.<br /><br />“The basis for all of this is to give us all the information possible, so we can make a better decision before hiring,” Evelyn said.<br /><br />Posted by <a href="http://pebiservices.com/">Pebi Services</a> President <a href="http://www.pebiservices.com/html/experience.html">Tyra Hearns </a><a href="http://pebiservices.com"></a><div class="blogger-post-footer">Tyra Hearns www.pebiservices.com</div>Tyra Hearns, President of PebiServices.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078175980369410779noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5763328248299271895.post-63741180062072321912008-09-28T02:24:00.001-04:002008-09-28T02:24:00.635-04:00Ohio school district says all school employees pass criminal background investigations<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_z1FPGRD5M1o/SNzy3eoDmXI/AAAAAAAAANY/nJRNfAygQLE/s1600-h/solon_schools%5B1%5D.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_z1FPGRD5M1o/SNzy3eoDmXI/AAAAAAAAANY/nJRNfAygQLE/s320/solon_schools%5B1%5D.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5250338300534954354" /></a><br /><br /><br />By Sue Hoffman<br />The Solon Times<br /><br />All employees in the Solon School District have had <a href="http://backgroundinvestigations.blogspot.com">criminal history background checks</a> with the FBI and Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation, officials said at Monday's school board meeting.<br />"We're compliant," School Superintendent Joseph V. Regano said. The practice is in accordance with a new state law and subsequent school policy. All substitute teachers also must have the <a href="http://pebiservices.com">background checks </a>before they can be considered for employment, he said.<br />No district employees were found to have any record that would prevent their employment, school officials said.<br />Board member Julie Glavin raised the question of whether school volunteers will be required to have <a href="http://backgroundinvestigations.blogspot.com">background investigations</a>.<br />While districts will be "looking for clarification" from the state on that issue, Mr. Regano said he believes the requirement only affects volunteers working "in single relationships" and "in direct control of students." It would not affect room parents or parents helping on field trips, he said. With volunteers, "it's difficult for the state to control since there's no licensing," he said.<br />There also is the issue of cost. School staff members each had to pay the $46 cost for the <a href="http://pebiservices.com">background checks</a>. Prior to the law, the BCI check was $15.<br />Volunteer coaches who work with students are fingerprinted, and <a href="http://pebiservices.com">background checks </a>are completed, Assistant Superintendent Thomas W. Stupica said.<br />He said the procedure for getting <a href="http://backgroundinvestigations.blogspot.com">background checks </a>by the FBI and BCI is simple. Fingerprinting is completed and sent by a machine in the district, he said. "If all goes well, we'll have a response within 24 hours."<br />The school board discussed a recent report that an employee in the Orange School District was found to have a felony conviction 36 years ago.<br />Mr. Stupica said that, prior to the new law, teaching applicants residing in Ohio for the last five years needed a <a href="http://backgroundinvestigations.blogspot.com">background check</a> only from BCI. Those who lived outside the state within the last five years were required to have the background check by the FBI.<br />With the new law, Mr. Stupica said, all employees have had to have both <a href="http://pebiservices.com">background checks.</a> Teachers must have them completed for any renewal of their licenses or certificates, which are valid a maximum of five years.<br />While teachers always needed the background check for initial employment, non-teaching staff members did not, Mr. Stupica said. Now, they must have it completed as well, he said. Future <a href="http://pebiservices.com">background checks</a> are scheduled with licensing renewal, he said, which is every six years for bus drivers.<br />"There are certain offenses for which a person cannot be hired by the schools, even if they occurred 20 to 30 or more years ago," Mr. Stupica said. They include assault, robbery and other violent crimes.<br />Board member Roger Goudy said BCI checks do not show past convictions which have been expunged, while the FBI report shows all past convictions, "expunged or not."<br />Mr. Stupica said that, for people who are 18 and older, records are sealed rather than expunged. Those who have had their records sealed may believe they do not have to report the past conviction on their applications, but those records become "unsealed" for certain jobs, he said. "In education, nothing is sealed."<br /><br /><br />Posted by <a href="http://pebiservices.com/">Pebi Services</a> President <a href="http://www.pebiservices.com/html/experience.html">Tyra Hearns </a><div class="blogger-post-footer">Tyra Hearns www.pebiservices.com</div>Tyra Hearns, President of PebiServices.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078175980369410779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5763328248299271895.post-87300015604661588502008-09-27T04:15:00.001-04:002008-09-27T04:15:00.294-04:00Governor Schwarzenegger signs bill for California EMT background investigations<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_z1FPGRD5M1o/SNzweypB9HI/AAAAAAAAANQ/6R7uMdgrwRg/s1600-h/governer-schwarzenegger-signs-teen-mobile-phone-while-driving-ban%5B1%5D.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_z1FPGRD5M1o/SNzweypB9HI/AAAAAAAAANQ/6R7uMdgrwRg/s320/governer-schwarzenegger-signs-teen-mobile-phone-while-driving-ban%5B1%5D.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5250335677387764850" /></a><br /><br />By Andrew McIntosh <br />Sacramento Bee<br /><br />Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed legislation today that requires California's 70,000emergency medical technicians to undergo mandatory <a href="http://pebiservices.com">criminal background checks. </a>In 2007, he vetoed a similar bill after expressing disapproval about last-minute changes that would have kept secret some details about rescuer misconduct. <br /><br />This time, Schwarzenegger signed an Assembly bill that will modernize a patchwork licensing and certification system in California's emergency medical services world. Extensive problems with the system were exposed in a 2007 sacramento Bee investigation. <br /><br />"EMTs provide vital services that help Californians in their time of need, and because of the critical role they play, it is important that we have a universal statewide standard that will prevent those who are unqualified or have a past criminal history from becoming EMTs," Schwarzenegger said in a statement issued by his office. <br /><br />"By signing these bills into law, we are increasing safety and accountability within the emergency medical services field and ensuring that Californians have the best EMTs available at any given moment," the Governor added. <br /><br />Schwarzenegger signed Assembly Bill 2917, which was introduced by Assemblyman Alberto Torrico, D-Newark. It also requires that EMTs be certified in the county in which they work and calls for the creation of a state-run central EMT registry. <br /><br />The local certification requirement aims to stop rescuers with spotty employment or <a href="http://backgroundinvestigations.com">criminal records </a>from shopping for certification in counties with no <a href="http://backgroundinvestigations.blogspot.com">background checks</a> -- a problem The Bee also uncovered. <br /><br />The registry would allow officials to track EMTs statewide and, after a disaster, to identify rescuers in areas where help is needed. EMT fees will be raised to pay for it. <br /><br />Torrico said that with a statewide registry, the state will be able to develop a single set of standards for certification, disciplinary orders and conditions of probation for EMTs. Employers will also be able to check if an EMT recruit has had a <a href="http://pebiservices.com">background check </a>or past action against their certification or license. <br /><br />Posted by <a href="http://pebiservices.com/">Pebi Services</a> President <a href="http://www.pebiservices.com/html/experience.html">Tyra Hearns </a><div class="blogger-post-footer">Tyra Hearns www.pebiservices.com</div>Tyra Hearns, President of PebiServices.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078175980369410779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5763328248299271895.post-28015710416554310792008-09-26T10:05:00.005-04:002008-09-26T10:14:54.264-04:00Police say background investigation was complete on arrested California 911 operator<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_z1FPGRD5M1o/SNzuCuctX8I/AAAAAAAAANI/KOxyW00wygU/s1600-h/42578337%5B1%5D.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5250332996202749890" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_z1FPGRD5M1o/SNzuCuctX8I/AAAAAAAAANI/KOxyW00wygU/s320/42578337%5B1%5D.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div></div><span style="font-size:78%;">Lissa Marie Domanic, 42, of Yorba Linda, seen in booking photo after her arrest, is a civilian employee of the Orange County Sheriff's Department who has been indicted on two felony charges. She has been placed on administrative leave pending a disciplinary review.</span><br /><br /><div>By Stuart Pfeifer<br />Los Angeles Times<br /><br />A civilian employee of the Orange County Sheriff's Department who allegedly has ties to a white supremacist gang has been indicted on charges of soliciting someone to commit a violent crime and providing confidential police records to unauthorized people, officials said Thursday.<br /><br />Lissa Marie Domanic, 42, was working as an office specialist and 911 dispatcher when she allegedly asked someone to assault an Orange County jail inmate, said sheriff's spokesman Jim Amormino.<br /><br /><br />She also allegedly used department computers to access confidential records that she forwarded to unauthorized people, Amormino said.<br /><br />A grand jury indicted Domanic on the felony charges earlier this week, and she is awaiting arraignment in Orange County Superior Court.<br /><br />Domanic, who has worked for the Sheriff's Department for about 19 months, has been placed on administrative leave pending a disciplinary review, Amormino said.<br /><br /><br />"We do a thorough <a href="http://pebiservices.com/">background investigation</a>, and nothing came up in her <a href="http://pebiservices.com/">background</a>," he said. "Sometimes people are able to conceal things they are involved in."<br /><br />Sheriff's investigators began looking at Domanic in May after receiving a tip about her from another law enforcement agency, Amormino said.<br /><br />Among the things she is accused of doing is asking one inmate to assault another inmate and using department records to identify the housing location of the intended victim, Amormino said. The assault did not occur, he said.<br /><br />When sheriff's investigators arrested Domanic at her Yorba Linda home earlier this week, she allegedly was under the influence of a controlled substance and in possession of methamphetamine, Amormino said.<br /><br /><br />Posted by <a href="http://pebiservices.com/">Pebi Services</a> President <a href="http://www.pebiservices.com/html/experience.html">Tyra Hearns </a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Tyra Hearns www.pebiservices.com</div>Tyra Hearns, President of PebiServices.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078175980369410779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5763328248299271895.post-84905532557071780652008-09-21T07:34:00.003-04:002008-09-21T07:41:09.920-04:00Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association in need of stringent background investigations<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_z1FPGRD5M1o/SNYy0ZhUNfI/AAAAAAAAANA/1NGuyTmxp0c/s1600-h/284222166_2f1e754e53.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_z1FPGRD5M1o/SNYy0ZhUNfI/AAAAAAAAANA/1NGuyTmxp0c/s320/284222166_2f1e754e53.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5248438291532101106" /></a><br /><br />State lawmakers should throw a penalty flag on the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association for failing to conduct <a href="http://pebiservices.com">background checks</a> on officials at athletic events.<br /><br />Given the widespread requirement that schools conduct <a href="http://backgroundinvestigations.blogspot.com">background investigations</a> on employees, including teachers, coaches, janitors and more, including, at times, construction and contract workers, it's stunning to learn that athletic officials in their striped shirts have slipped through the cracks.<br /><br />And now it's time to change that.<br /><br />The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that it found numerous instances of people having the same names as those with criminal records officiating sanctioned sporting events in Districts 7 and 8.<br /><br />The PIAA acknowledges that the newspaper found some instances in which people who had committed crimes had officiated sporting events but noted that even after a yearlong investigation, the Post-Gazette didn't find any cases in which an athletic official committed a crime in connection with his officiating duties in the districts examined.<br /><br />We're glad there apparently hasn't been a problem and that the PIAA has adopted policies that prohibit one-on-one, unsupervised contact between officials and student athletes.<br /><br />But just because there hasn't been problems in the past doesn't mean the PIAA shouldn't look to improve its policies.<br /><br />Since 2006, the PIAA has asked people applying to be officials for the first time if they have been convicted of a felony, and if so, what it was and when it happened? But the organization doesn't check on the applicant's truthfulness, nor does it inquire about the criminal records of those who had registered before 2006.<br /><br />The PIAA says it relies on schools and others associated with the athletic association to identify those who have been convicted or pleaded guilty to crimes and does regular evaluations in an effort to spot problems.<br /><br />Those are reasonable steps, but the lack of <a href="http://pebiservices.com">criminal background checks</a> still leaves a hole that should be plugged.<br /><br />The PIAA raises concerns about the cost of doing regular <a href="http://www.pebiservices.com/html/experience.html">background investigations</a> for the approximately 13,700 officials that register every year. The group says other states have seen 10 percent to 25 percent drops in the number of people signed up to officiate when background checks are required.<br /><br />The PIAA also expresses worries about whether increasing the cost of dues of athletic officials to cover the expense of the background checks would reduce the number of applicants.<br /><br />But what is the cost to the PIAA's reputation if it cannot attest to the criminal history of its referees, umpires and officials?<br /><br />Perhaps there could be a middle ground in which <a href="http://www.pebiservices.com/html/services.html">background checks</a> are done immediately on new applicants and on a rotating basis, for example once every three years, for existing officials. This might not be perfect, at least it would be better than what currently exists.<br /><br />The bottom line is checking on whether referees, umpires and other athletic officials have committed crimes may come at a cost and be an inconvenience to the PIAA, but our kids are worth it.Posted by <a href="http://pebiservices.com/">Pebi Services</a> President <a href="http://www.pebiservices.com/html/experience.html">Tyra Hearns </a><div class="blogger-post-footer">Tyra Hearns www.pebiservices.com</div>Tyra Hearns, President of PebiServices.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078175980369410779noreply@blogger.com0