Arrest records

I hired a new employee a few weeks ago and didn't bother to do a background check. I had hired him on the recommendation of another employee of mine and made the mistake of assuming that he would be an upstanding citizen. When it came to work ethics, he was upstanding. He was never one second late or called in. As a matter of fact, he was more of a hardworker than some of my veteran employees. On one Monday morning, 30 minutes before he was due to arrive at work, two detectives showed up in my office door. Apparently, there was a warrant out for this gentleman's arrest and I had not a clue as to any of this information. Of course, I complied with everything that they were asking and felt terrible when I knew that my employee would be showing up, getting arrested, and I would just be standing there watching. In a way, I felt betrayed. I mean, I hired this man because someone had given me a good report of him and it turned out to be a complete lie. I'd had no reason to inquire about his arrest records or assume that he had a record.

An hour later, he had been taken away in handcuffs and the detectives were filling me in on everything that was on his long list of arrest records. Apparently, he loved to steal cars and commit robberies. I was absolutely horrified. But, there was nothing I could do. I did vow that from that moment forward I would be changing my policies on how I hire employees. I was going to start doing a background check, looking for any arrest records and possibly even requiring a drug test. I wasn't about to compromise my company's future again.

I spent a few hours on the internet, seeing if I could get a hold of this man's arrest records and see if this could have been prevented. I was absolutely amazed at not just the amount of sites that promise to give detailed arrest records, but will do a background check and give out personal information to anyone who decides to pay the fees. Now, I didn't pay any of the fees. I'm not sure why I should have to. Arrest records should be made public knowledge for free. If they have arrest records, than perhaps they lost the right to some of their privacy. But, that's just my opinion. I didn't bother to do any more research. I planned on changing things. If you are in a hiring positions, just as I am, you might want to take a few moments and research a potential employee's arrest records and background. It may save you from getting an early morning shock as I had received.