Are Background Checks Failing Us?

All one has to do these days is turn on the local news to hear about another teacher, coach or employee being accused of a crime of either drugs or child sexual abuse. If you are like me, the first question you think of is, “Don’t they do background checks?” What we are starting to find out, is yes they do. The problem is with the way in which the background checks are being done and by whom.

Let’s start with the basics and the must haves. The FCRA, or the Fair Credit Reporting Act, was passed in 1970 to ensure regulations of the collection of credit information. Additionally, The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission   governs how this is to be done:

 In all cases, make sure that you’re treating everyone equally. It’s illegal to check the background of applicants and employees when that decision is based on a person’s race, national origin, color, sex, religion, disability, genetic information (including family medical history), or age (40 or older). For example, asking only people of a certain race about their financial histories or criminal records is evidence of discrimination.

Where the problem lies, in may cases, is with the actual agencies in which background companies receive their information. They may not be updated regularly enough. That in and of itself is a problem. But the list goes on…

background checks

You may be surprised to learn the following flaws:

  1. The FBI offers a National Criminal Information Center which is great, as long as the crime was reported to the FBI. Beginning in 1967, it is  dependent on records that have been provided by criminal justice agencies. It operates under a shared management concept between the FBI and federal, state, local and tribal criminal justice users.
  2. Many times education is not checked out thoroughly which can be very detrimental down the road. This includes professional licenses.
  3. They often don’t utilize the information from paid data bases.
  4. Social Media is rarely included. I don’t mean the prospective employee gives up passwords.  That should not ever be done in my opinion, however much can be gleaned by conducting a deep web investigation, without that information. A social media background check may reveal quite a lot about the character of the individual. Many HR execs are looking anyway, however hiring an agency is the safest way to go. A best practice is to never review your candidates’ social media profiles internally. This is beneficial because an agency’s review and social media report respect your candidate’s privacy and alleviates your employees from reviewing content that could lead to accusations of discrimination or violations of freedoms.

 

 

How Social Media Helps Solve Crimes

 

 We no longer live in a world of modesty. It seems nothing is off limits these days…online confessions, incriminating selfies, and detailed accounts of crimes. Experts now explain how social media has helped solve numerous investigations.

 

Take 22-year-old Melinda Vasilije, who was found stabbed to death in her Kitchener, Ontario apartment. Soon after, a Reddit post titled “Wanted for Kitchener murder – my side” surfaced. It was allegedly authored by Ager Hasan, 24, Vasilije’s former boyfriend.

In what allegedly appeared to be a detailed confession, Vasilije explained in detail what happened that night. He also posted photos of the former couple together and screenshots of text messages between them. Hasan went on the run in the United States while a warrant was out for his arrested and has been charged with second-degree murder. Preliminary court proceedings are currently underway.

While most social media posts to be self-serving, Hasan’s posts while on the run seemed reactionary rather than motivated by an audience. However, there have been a number of recent cases where it’s obvious the suspects wanted an audience.

For instance, the 24 year old “selfie killer” Amanda Taylor, who was convicted of murdering her father-in-law, 59-year-old Charlie Taylor. Amanda took a selfie holding a bloody knife in front of the dead body of her father-in-law. She then posted it on her social media. While she was on the run she still made time to update Instagram with a photo of a gun in her lap and a note that seemed suicidal in tone. “Alright… It’s about that time. I’m going to go find my husband in Hell and finally be at peace.” Amanda is now serving life in prison after being found guilty of first-degree murder.

When asked why she would post about committing murder on social media, she told local media: “I guess I was proud of what I had done and like I got online and saw a couple different news postings and me and Sean, like, we were wanted,” she said. “They were looking for us, and I don’t know, I just felt the need… I was excited that I had finally [done] it.”

 

Another example of incriminating social media posts involves Cheyenne Rose Antoine, a 21-year-old woman in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. She was found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to seven years in prison for killing her best friend. A key piece of evidence that was used to prove she had killed her friend, 18-year-old Brittney Gargol, was a selfie of the two women that showed Antoine wearing the same belt that was found next to Gargol’s body on a road near a landfill.

Lisa Watson, who was Antoine’s criminal defense lawyer, said she’s been seeing social media come up more often in criminal cases since she started practicing law in 2010. “It was all very foreign when social media kind of started exploding onto the scene,” Watson said. “Courts now, at least in my experience, are much more familiar with the various social media platforms.” Watson said Facebook in particular is one platform she’s seen progress in recent years.

“It seems there’s more of an acceptance of evidence coming forth from social media in criminal courtroom now,” Watson said. “Anything that gets written down or recorded, posted, anything like that, people just don’t realize the amount that it can be used and the ways it can be used in a courtroom. Be cautious about what you post,” Watson warns, “and be aware that it can be used perhaps to help you, but perhaps to form a criminal prosecution against you in the future.”

Law enforcement agencies are also turning to social media as a means of both solving crimes and connecting with the public. After 39 years in law enforcement, Florida’s Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey has created a unique use of social media to apprehend alleged perpetrators.

Since taking office in 2013, his department’s Facebook page has amassed more than 100,000 followers. Ivey’s “Wheel of Fugitive” broadcast on Facebook and YouTube, in which he asks the public for tips to locate individuals with current warrants (and yes, he spins a wheel with their mug shots), has led to a number of arrests over the past half-decade. Ivey says his team’s social-media output reaches between 300,000 and 700,000 people weekly—far more than they could hope to reach with more conventional methods.

“When I became Sheriff in 2013, one of my goals was to get vital crime information to the public before they became a victim, and not after,” says Ivey. “We found out very quickly that the overwhelming majority of people were using social media to interact.”

According to Ivey, the success rates in delivering and obtaining information this way, he says, are unprecedented.  With the “Wheel of Fugitive” program, Ivey estimates, as much as 88 percent of perpetrators turn themselves in or are found using citizen tips.

The bottom line is that social media is fair game. Everything you post is public and could be used to help or hinder your case. So think twice before you post!

Teacher Sex Crimes & Social Media

 

While there are many positives to the use of social media, there are just as many negatives. The rise in teacher performed sex acts has brought to light what advocates say is a life-threatening issue to children across the country.

Just recently, Cleveland County deputies arrested 25-year-old Emma Costner after they accused the former math teacher of performing sex acts with a 17-year-old student.

“This is a school safety issue that’s ignored,” Terri Miller, president of the Nevada-based group, Stop Educator Sexual Abuse Misconduct and Exploitation, said. “In 2016, there were 540 reports, and it spiked last year in 2017 to 698 reports.”

What is causing the sudden increase?

Experts believe one reason for this dramatic rise is social media, which makes it easier for teachers and students to communicate through text messages, Facebook and apps like Snapchat. Miller said parents should monitor their children’s phones and social media profiles and know what apps they are using at all times.

“Because you just don’t know who’s going to climb in bed with your children through that technology,” Miller said.

 

According to the most recent data from a nationwide survey of 8th- to 11th-grade students asking about incidents of unwanted sexual attention at school, nearly 7%, or about 3.5 million students, report having physical sexual contact from an adult, most commonly a teacher or coach, in their school (Shakeshaft, 2004). These students describe unwanted touching on breasts, buttocks, and genitals; forced kissing and hugging; oral/genital contact; and vaginal and anal intercourse.

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Reports of educator misconduct that doesn’t include touching a student, but rather sharing pornography, sexual talk, sexual exhibitionism, or masturbation raised the proportion to about 10%, or nearly 4.5 million students (Shakeshaft, 2004).

 

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What are the warning signs of educator sexual misconduct?

 

The phrase “educator sexual misconduct” was coined about a decade ago and envelops a range of inappropriate to criminal sexual behaviors that include verbal, visual, and physical misconduct. While some behavior is not criminal, all of the behaviors are unacceptable when directed by an adult, especially a school-based authority figure, toward a student.

What is most alarming is that education and programs to stop sexual abuse are directed toward children, asking them to do what adults will not — report the incidents. While children need to learn risky situation identification and refusal skills, it should not be their responsibility to ensure schools are safe places for all students. That falls on teachers and administrators.

Educators can prevent much of the sexual misconduct in schools if they know how to recognize and respond to suspicious patterns and if administrators enforce an environment of high expectations for behavior. Law enforcement recommends parents have frequent, proactive conversations with their kids about the dangers of being online. It’s one of the only ways that are effective to prevent a child from becoming a child victim because once the predator is engaged with the child, it almost is never reported– even if a sexual assault occurs.

“The child rarely reports to the parent or law enforcement, Hey I’ve been sending nude photos or I’ve been sexting with these people and now they’re extorting me or this person wants to meet me, is that a good idea?” Agent Neville said.

Agent Neville continued by saying law enforcement typically only learns of child sexual assault incidents because of parents stumble upon what has been happening. If that never happens, though, the assault will likely go unreported.