Long Playing Records

Criminal background check required. Not a bad idea. After all we want to know the past of an individual applying for a job which involves close contact with our children at a school or daycare center, a youth association volunteer, the elderly at a long term care facility or even working the cash register at the neighborhood convenience store. How thorough the search depends on the length to which an employer wishes to travel. How accurate are the results? Are we able to separate all of the chaff from the wheat?

Modern technology has given us the tools necessary to delve into one's personal history, but it has also permitted alteration in order to assume a new identity. For a mere $2.50 a prospective employer or volunteer organization may search an Internet database to determine the worthiness of a candidate. A larger fee will reveal much more relevant information. However, the accuracy of output is only as good as the input of data otherwise convicted felons would not be discovered at a later date to be employed in positions of trust. Not that convicted felons should be barred from all forms of employment, but we really don't want a sex offender on the payroll of a school or daycare center.

Employers require a criminal background check and send the applicant down to the local constablatory for a records check. The applicant fills out the form and receives a "No Record" stamp on the sheet and proudly submits the document to the employer and is hired. But these checks are related to locality and not nationally. So if the applicant has a sordid past in another state, he has gotten one over on us. And if an individual was convicted in a Federal court for lets say, child pornography, this conviction might not show up on a local record check. Individual courts could be searched for records, but with 3100 +/- county courts in the country the likelihood that this method would be considered is remote.

The most accurate method to search for a criminal history is fingerprinting of an applicant. Utilized by most school districts in the country, it is costly and time consuming. Local law enforcement agencies send off the fingerprint card to the FBI database and if there is a match it will be exact. Sad to say though, the method is not always used because of the cost factor and, read this, that this form of search is invasive. Invasive? That's the whole scheme of things. To pry into the past.

In this era of over legislation maybe the powers that be in D.C. could give the nod to a new idea. Upon issuance of a Social Security card, a red or yellow card, similar to the ones utilized by soccer refs to signify a wrong doing, would also be issued. Upon conviction of a crime, the card would reflect the information. The card would be a prerequisite to employment. No card; no job. Just a thought