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Background Investigations
ChecklistMATTHEW P. DOLAN
ATTORNEY
PUBLIC AGENCY TRAINING COUNCIL
Pot-selling police officer gets 18 months in jail July 23, 2014
But as sentencing day approached, Hamilton asked a judge to keep him out of prison
because, he said, his motives were above board. He told the judge in a letter that he started
growing his plants for the day when medical marijuana would be legal and his product could
alleviate suffering for many people.
As for his sale of $1,100 worth of pot to a government informant, Hamilton called it a “lapse
of judgment.”
After Hamilton serves his prison time, he will undergo two years of supervised release.
Further, he must forfeit $50,000 – the amount the government prosecutors calculated as
the value of the marijuana crop found in his basement.
Hamilton had written a letter to Skretny saying, “It would absolutely be no benefit to me or
any tax-paying American to place me in an institution.”
Confinement would lead to further financial ruin for his family, he pointed out. His wife,
according to his statement, lost out on her career as a state trooper because of his arrest.
Hamilton said he would be in harm’s way in a prison “sitting with inmates that I’ve placed in
there.”
While Hamilton acknowledged it was appropriate that he serve time, he suggested that
Skretny suspend the sentence so that Hamilton could do charitable work while in society.
“I’ve endured more punishment than most Americans ever will,” he said in his letter.
Bad Apple by: PO Peter C. Nigrelli, Co-Editor
At some point during the calendar year of 2012 the Buffalo Police Department, the City
of Buffalo’s Department of Human Resources and the contracted company who did background
checks on prospective Buffalo Police Recruits did a stellar job on one James M. Hamilton!!!!!
This Probationary Police Officer Candidate must have had a great set of qualities that caught
the eye of the City of Buffalo. The reason I bring this up is because he was hired as a “ PPO” in
August 2012. Thank goodness he never completed his 18 months of Probation and became a
Police Officer.
The City of Buffalo has a Common Council and let’s hope these elected officials start
asking questions. How much money do we pay a company to do our background checks? We
have Detectives and Detective Sergeants why can’t they do ALL of the background work???
This practice was in place for many years and it should be put back into place.
I don’t buy any talk of Hamilton “being worried about embarrassing the Buffalo Police
Department.” If he wasn’t caught in November he would most likely still be wheeling and dealing
drugs.
To the people who wear our uniform, keep doing so and with the utmost professionalism.
A Bad Apple will not bring shame on all of us.
www.buffalopba.com
APRIL 2014
Cleveland police never reviewed
Independence personnel file
before hiring officer who shot
Tamir Rice
December 03, 2014
The personnel file contained reports by a top Independence police
official who questioned Loehmann's ability to handle the duties of
a police officer after an emotional breakdown during firearms
training and other incidents that caused concern for his superiors.
Cleveland police on Wednesday amended their written policy on
reviewing public personnel files for someone trying to get hired,
Pillow said. They previously had no policies about viewing
personnel files.
Background Investigations—Back to Basics
WHO is conducting the background investigation?
“Knocking on Doors” rather than relying solely on phone interviews.
Going beyond their references—speaking in person with acquaintances not referenced by the applicant.
Balancing the cost of a comprehensive, in-person background investigation against the profound responsibility of hiring someone as an officer.
Establishing the Background Investigations Checklist—
Are we all working from the same sheet of music?
Factors That Cloud Judgment in Hiring
Political Considerations (broad category)
Political Considerations“We need and have budgeted for X number of cops by the end of the year”
“We need more ___________ cops as soon as possible”
Any other considerations that may take away the ability of “boots on the ground” investigators to identify toxicity
Hiring—From Freeze to Frenzy
Risks Associated with a Hiring Frenzy
Balance the cost of leaving budgeted vacancies unfilled against
The risk of hiring individuals who have not been properly vetted/do not meet agency standards/are not supported by the “boots on the ground” investigators and interviewers
The “Nuts and Bolts” of Background Investigations
The Only Thing We All Have in Common is that We All Do Things a Little Differently
WHO Is Your Background Investigator?
Who Is Your Background Investigator?
Have they ever conducted a personnel background investigation before?
Have they received any training?
Have they been provided with a checklist/outline/etc.?
Creating The Background Investigation Checklist
The make-up of the particular agency’s checklist depends on:
◦ Criteria for employment eligibility/hiring standards/automatic disqualifiers
◦ Priorities of the agency’s executive leadership or background investigator
◦ Agency resources—starting with the least expensive or time-consuming steps rather than running the risk of discovering them after more costly efforts have been made in other areas
Background Investigation ChecklistTemplate
Verify that all necessary application documents have been submitted including all necessary waivers and releases
Application Review to verify that there are no facially conflicting or false statements
Credentials Verification
Driving Record Checks
Criminal History Checks (including checks of all formers states of residency)
Credit Check (pursuant to FCRA requirements)
Check of National Database that registers de-certified officers (IADLEST)
Social Media/Internet Search
Employment History (including interviewing past employers to the extent possible)
Personal References Interviews
Neighborhood Canvas and Interviews with Neighbors, Acquaintances, Co-Workers, etc.
Follow-up Reviews on Issues Generated During the Investigation
Background Investigation Summary/Report
Passing the Information on to the Executive, Proper Records Retention & Confidentiality
Background Investigation Summary
May require of checklist of its own for purposes of organization, efficiency and equal treatment of applicants.
Example:◦ Overall Summary (including any note-worthy issues of concern—including
those that are not automatic disqualifiers)
◦ Verification of Minimum Requirements
◦ Criminal History
◦ Employment History
◦ Credit History
◦ Driving History
◦ Alcohol and Drug Use/Knowledge
◦ References (consider footnoting throughout the Summary and including detailed sources of information in one location as the conclusion of the document)
Summaries When Clear Disqualifiers are Discovered
If we find a felony conviction, frequent instances of dishonesty, etc.—does it make sense to continue with the checklist OR should we be clearly noting the aforementioned disqualifiers, and move on to the next investigation?
The National Crime Information Center—An
Imperfect ToolBy its own admission, the FBI’s NCIC databases should not be a resource that is overly-depended upon by agencies.
The absence of incriminating information on this database should NOT be taken to mean that there is a criminal history that exists but was not properly inputed; and
Apparently incriminating information should be verified before disqualifying an applicant
Is There Any Replacement For a County Courthouse
Search?Verification or exoneration purposes
Discovery of the existence of expunged criminal records
Civil matters that are relevant to character and fitness to serve in law enforcement
The Myth of Employer References
and DefamationTruthful, general opinion statements (“he is not re-hireable by this agency”) is not defamation.
Allowing access to personnel files pursuant to valid authorization, waiver and release is not defamation.
Failure to disclose certain dangerous propensities can result in liability for previous employer.
Employer Immunity re: References
When requested to provide a reference on a former or current employee, an employer acting in good faith is immune from liability for comments about the former employee’s job performance. The immunity shall not apply when the reference information supplied was knowingly false or deliberately misleading, was rendered with malicious purpose or violated any civil rights of the former employee.
See N.M. Stat. Ann. § 50-12-1 (LEXIS 2014)
The Applicants are NOT the Only One’s Whose Honesty
Must be Scrutinized
Utilizing Social Media in Background Investigations
Most states do not have a prohibition on requesting applicant social media information and MOST that do have prohibitions that DO NOT APPLY to law enforcement.
Utilizing Social Media in Background Investigations
If your state has a prohibition without a law enforcement exemption OR if legislation is pending, keep in mind
(1) Publicly available content is not limited by social media privacy legislation.
(2) Furthermore, in states where only requiring the disclosure of passwords is prohibited, that prohibition does not extend to the requirement that the contents of the site be made available to the background investigator without the applicant disclosing the password.
What About Applicants for Non-Sworn Positions?
Will they have access to sensitive information?
Will they be in a position to jeopardize officer safety or the effectiveness of investigations?
Will they be in a position to diminish the public trust?
If the answer is yes to any of these questions—should we have an agency Background Investigation Checklist for Non-Sworn Personnel (though possibly more limited than those for sworn personnel)?
Defending the Decision Not to Hire due to Findings in the Background
Defending Decisions Not to Hire based on the Background
InvestigationStandard form letter indicating decision not to hire.
Spreadsheet with all necessary information/ “paper trail” versusFormal internal summary of decision not-to-hire Retain it
If applicant resigns the process leave it at that in lieu of extreme circumstances (criminal, etc.)
Pittsburgh defends effort to hire minorities as
police officers
April 30, 2013 3:14 pm
By Rich Lord and Moriah Balingit / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Pittsburgh officials defended their efforts to improve police bureau diversity Tuesday, assailing
the backgrounds of plaintiffs in a federal lawsuit, while an audit suggested that recruiting of
minorities had improved, even if hiring had not.
Last year the American Civil Liberties Union sued the city on behalf of five black men, seeking
to represent a class of around 300 other failed applicants, claiming that the police hiring process
favors relatives and friends of officers to the near-exclusion of minorities. Around 4 percent of
police hires since 2001 have been African-American, according to the lawsuit.
Assistant city solicitor Wendy Kobee's motion to dismiss said the five named plaintiffs have
"extremely weak individual claims" and were "inadequate to represent the proposed class."
Quoting documents from city files, Ms. Kobee wrote that plaintiff Mike J. Sharp suffered from
his "admission to a long history of illicit drug use and dealing -- 'between 1996 and 2004 he
smoked marijuana between 800 and 1,000 times and assisted in arranging drug deals,' " which
"rendered him less desirable" as a recruit.
ACLU Pennsylvania legal director Witold Walczak called the motion "a smear devoid of
reality." He said any drug use by Mr. Sharp -- now an officer with a different department --
"stopped a decade ago."
"They've turned youthful drug experimentation, which many young people these days have
[done] ... and expanded that into what you see in their motion."
Ms. Kobee's motion indicated problems with the backgrounds of other plaintiffs, too.
"We have an obligation to vigorously defend our client, the city," solicitor Dan Regan said. That
compelled the filing of the motion with information on the plaintiffs' backgrounds, he said.
Mr. Walczak said the city hired other candidates who admitted stealing from previous employers
and who, according to lie detector tests, seemed to be untruthful when denying recent drug use.
He said the city's motion ducks its near-total failure to hire minorities.
Upcoming In-Class Training
Recruiting, Hiring &
Background Investigations
Boise, ID 1/26/2015—1/27/2015
Greenville, SC 2/17/2015—2/19/2015
Las Vegas, NV 2/26/2015—2/27/2015
Denver, CO 3/2/2015—3/3/2015
New Braunfels, TX 3/24/2015—3/26/2015
http://www.patc.com/training/schedule.php
DID YOU KNOW? PATC offers consulting services to agencies facing personnel
challenges. These services include an investigation of current
personnel policies in order to make Findings and Recommendations
and create agency-specific policies to fit your agency’s needs. Some
of these services include:
--Strategic Planning for Diversity in Recruiting and Hiring
--Terminations and Separation Agreements
--Recruiting, Hiring and Background Investigations
--Claims of Discrimination, Retaliation and Harassment
--Performance Evaluation Policies
Contact:
Matt Dolan
1-800-365-0119
