Background Investigations in Law Enforcement

At a time when law enforcement agencies are facing increasing pressure to recruit and hire new officers as quickly as possible, it is vital that agency leaders ensure that they are hiring qualified applicants rather than giving into the temptations to simply hire “warm bodies.” Those tasked with conducting background investigations of would-be employees play a crucial, if often overlooked, role in the future of an agency.

The department is only as good as its people and, therefore, the task of preventing unqualified applicants from falling through the cracks of the hiring process is as important as any aspect of a law enforcement agency’s operations. This investigative task is vital, not only for newcomers to the law enforcement profession, but for those lateral hires who apply from outside agencies.

This training will focus on creating and following agency-specific policies and procedures to ensure that all applicants are investigated in a manner that is ethically and legally defensible.

Course Objectives:

• Recognizing the long-term legal liability and public trust ramifications associated with “bad hires”
• Identifying best practices for background investigations in light of statutory limitations
• Going beyond automatic disqualifiers and state certification standards
• Creating and sticking to consistent policies and procedures for background investigations
• Effectively communicating investigative findings and ultimate decision-making between background investigators and agency leaders
• Minimizing failure-to-hire discrimination liability in vetting potential candidates
• Meeting the challenge of conducting thorough background investigations in the face of current staffing shortages