Many people think since they live in a small to medium size town that background checks aren’t necessary. We hear it all the time, managers tell us they use “their gut feeling” when leasing or hiring individuals. That is scary….
This scenario, which we hear on a regular basis, is scary because it puts communities and workplaces at risk. We all like to believe our hometown of Fayetteville, Arkansas is the safest place on earth, but the reality is even safe places have bad people that don’t pay their bills or that spend time in and out of prison. Here at ACUTRAQ we always say, “We don’t want to live next to a sex offender and no one else does either”. How will you know if an applicant has a violent past, or history of theft without running a background check? Often times career criminals will migrate towards smaller towns, with unsuspecting people willing to help anybody, including them.
Over the years we have heard many stories about nightmare applicants that could have been avoided by running a $20 background check. We have seen everything from wanted murderers, meth cooks, identity thieves and many more stories that landlords and employers should want to avoid. There have been employers who hired registered sex offenders and never ran a background check. In that situation upon if the employee assaults or kills someone else the employer will be liable for negligent hiring. The scenarios and real life occurrences go on and on. For more information on this subject visit the Sue Weaver Foundation. This is a true event in which a lady who assaulted and murdered by a service technician that was never background checked. The technician had not been out of prison very long and should have never been allowed to work in that type of service.
Whether it’s a small town like Fayetteville, Arkansas or a huge city like Houston, Texas; Every landlord should have a goal of having safe and prosperous property. Every employer should want to create a positive, safe work environment.
