Negligent Hiring Liability for Law Enforcement

Your greatest asset—and potentially your greatest liability—are the people that represent your agency every day.  As law enforcement agencies face a difficult recruiting environment, increased turnover, and calls to alter hiring criteria in order to cast a wider net in recruiting efforts, the risk of negligent hiring cannot be ignored.  

This is a critical time for law enforcement leaders to re-evaluate their hiring practices to ensure that they are doing everything that they reasonably can to address the legal, ethical, and public safety risks associated with hiring “warm bodies” in spite of discoverable red flags as it pertains to applicants’ character, integrity, and competence.

These risks are particularly pronounced in cases involving lateral hires who have demonstrated their inability to function as law enforcement officers at other agencies prior to seeking employment at a new police department or sheriff’s office.

In this two-hour webinar, Attorney Matt Dolan will review the sources of liability incurred by law enforcement leaders when making hiring decisions based on background investigations, academy performance, and conduct during the field training program.  

Topics covered will include:

• Going beyond automatic disqualifiers in background investigations
• Due diligence in an era of lateral hires “free agency” in law enforcement 
• The dangers associated with politically motivated hiring
• Ethical and public safety implications of “cutting corners” in the hiring process
• Properly viewing the field training program and probationary process as a once-in-a-career vetting opportunity
• Properly documenting the lawful rationale for disqualifying unqualified applicants