This timely article is 1 of 5 being re-run in light of the Penn State sex scandal!
By
John Sadler, Sadler & Company, Inc.
Part II – Local Law Enforcement
Criminal Background Checks
This is Part II of a 4 part series about the types of background checks and their importance when using volunteers. An authority in the field of sport insurance, John discusses four types of background checks: 1) sexual offender registry checks, 2) local law enforcement criminal background checks, 3) 3rd party vendor checks, and 4) FBI checks.
Local Law Enforcement
Local law enforcement is often contacted as a potential “free” source of criminal background checks. However, local law enforcement agencies are increasingly declining such requests due to limited manpower. When making requests to local law enforcement, you should specifically inquire as to which source will be used to run the criminal background check.
If law enforcement uses a single county record check as a source, this will not reveal criminal offenses which may have occurred in a different county. If they use a state database as a source (compiled from single county courthouse records), this will not reveal criminal offenses which may have occurred in a different state. Generally, local law enforcement does not confirm information provided by the volunteer (Name/dob/ss#/address) and provides raw court data with no interpretation of information.
The best source available to local law enforcement is the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) electronic database which lists arrest records on a national basis compiled from various federal, state, and local sources, and is necessary to screen sexual predators who freely cross county and state lines.
One limitation of the NCIC database is that it will only indicate if there has been an arrest, but it won’t indicate the disposition of such arrest. This can be a problem because some arrests never result in charges and other arrests result in reduced charges or no conviction. Those volunteers with an arrest record under NCIC must be run through another criminal background check source in order to receive complete details before a disqualification action can be taken.
Another potential problem with the NCIC database is that many local law enforcement departments will refuse to access it unless a crime needs to be investigated. Of course, this would eliminate the use of NCIC as a source to check the arrest records of volunteers who are merely attempting to be involved with youth sports programs.
The advantages of using local law enforcement is that there is generally no direct cost involved as fees may be absorbed by the local law enforcement agency, there is little administrative time required of the youth sports provider, the results can be immediate (depending upon the priority given of the local law enforcement agency), the results indicate all criminal offenses, the Fair Credit Reporting Act does not apply, and all criminal records are revealed (not just sex crimes).
The disadvantages are that the geographic territory may be too limited unless the NCIC database can be accessed and the legal liabilities of mismatched name, improper interpretation, use of information protected by various state First Offender Acts (prohibit the rejection of an applicant based on criminal background protected under state act), and slander can’t be transferred or outsourced to another party, as may be the case when a third party vendor is used.
Separate from the issue of considering local law enforcement for criminal background checks, an administrator from the sports organization should always establish a “point person” contact with local law enforcement in the event that a situation arises that requires police action or input. For example, law enforcement can provide assistance in the case of a suspicious volunteer coach or if an adult “fan” has begun to suspiciously linger after practices or games.
John Sadler is president of Sadler & Company, Inc., an insurance agency that specializes in sports and recreation insurance in all 50 states. Sadler has over 25 years of experience and is a licensed attorney, sports insurance expert, and sports risk manager. For more information on sports insurance and sports risk management, visit www.sadlersports.com and click on the links to the blog and risk management reports/forms/videos.
Photo Credit: Jp Corkery