Current topic:
Criminal Background Checks:
Could a Life Have Been Saved?
During a softball game in 1994, an umpire asked a 19-year old female
scorekeeper to lunch
and a seemingly innocent outing to a local Burger King turned deadly
before anyone even suspected foul play. Convicted killer and Georgia
prison inmate Colvin Hinton
admitted for the first time to ABC
News that he murdered college student Shannon Melendi whom he met at
work.
This wasn't Colvin's first offense.
Melendi was a talented young woman with a bright future--she graduated
high school
cum laude in the National Honor Society. Plans of attending law school,
joining the Navy, and working in politics were often shared with her
Cuban-American family. Melendi's job as
a scorekeeper was a way to earn money while she pursued her dreams.
Regrettably in 1994, instead of taking Melendi back to work after lunch,
Colvin forced Melendi to drive at knife-point to his house where he
killed her. In 1977 he was charged with a criminal attempt to rape his
boss' wife after he tried to kidnap her. In 1982, Colvin's wife found
him in the basement with a 14-year old girl who was tied up and about to
be assaulted by Colvin. Colvin claimed he was guilty but mentally ill
for this incident and was sentenced to four years in prison.
The question today is: would Melendi perhaps be alive today if Colvin
had undergone a criminal
records check before being hired by as an umpire?
Such a check is both inexpensive and priceless: it could have prevented
him from coming in contact with Melendi.
Forgoing background screening of potential employees is never
worth the risk and harm they can do to you, your employees, and your
organization. The only way to really know who you're hiring is to have
comprehensive background screening
done on candidates.
It's a minor cost that clearly leads to a safer work environment for
everyone. Bear in mind also that it's equally important to perform
background screening on volunteers, especially if they work with children.
Call EBI to discuss designing a drug testing program to suit your company's needs.Our reliable drug testing programs will give you peace of mind about drug use in your workplace.
Criminal records searches. Random drug testing. Reference checks. Everything for a comprehensive picture of your prospective employees.
Call us at 800.324.7700 for details.
|
|
|
