Non-disclosure of criminal history a slippery slope

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Non-disclosure of criminal history a slippery slope

For an elected official, charged with the responsibility of making decisions on behalf of the taxpaying citizens of Crittenden County, to suggest background checks on prospective employees are unnecessary makes us wonder the intelligent level of some politicians we have serving us in public office.

Here we have good ole’ Hubert Bass, you remember the guy who thinks Crittenden County needs its very own “Justice Commission,” who now is wanting the county to simply do away with requiring job applicants to disclose whether they have a criminal background on the actual application itself.

Bass’ shallow minded belief is that he thinks it would just be a good move for Crittenden County government to help convicted felons get “a second chance.”

In presenting his idea to other elected politicians on the Crittenden County Quorum Court recently, Bass asked the ridiculous question, “How are they going to get rehabilitated if they come back out (of prison) into society and can’t find employment?”

Correct us if we’re wrong here Mr. Bass, but since when is our county government, supported with our tax dollars, responsible for rehabilitating ex-cons?

Don’t get us wrong, we fully support all the tax dollars that are currently being spent to incarcerate and rehabilitate society’s misfits but we draw the line in believing it is the responsibility of Crittenden County to create a rehabilitation process in the hiring of county employees.

This is just another ridiculous idea that the responsible elected officials serving us on the Quorum Court should simply put into one of those recycling bins outside the courthouse.

Okay, in all fairness to Bass, eliminating the question of prior convictions on government job applications isn’t new or unheard of. In fact, Bass says 23 states have passed similar ordinances and he says over 100 cities and counties — including Memphis, don’t require job applicants to reveal the fact they have been convicted of a criminal act.

In pitching his ordinance, Bass said job applicants would not have to disclose prior convictions, but can still be required to pass a background check.

Bass said a person’s qualifications should be enough to get them the job. He used the example, “If they have a marijuana charge, that’s not job related. It shouldn’t disqualify them.”

Bass said if Memphis already has a similar police, there is no reason why Crittenden County shouldn’t do the same.” Now, come on Mr. Bass, for goodness sakes, let’s not use Memphis as an example to follow after.

Certainly, we believe in giving people second changes, but by the same token we know of no major private business that hires its employees without knowing as much as they can particularly before they are hired.

What sense does it make to conduct extensive interviews, fill out all the necessary paperwork and all the other requirements for putting an employee on the payroll only to discover there are circumstances that should have been known well before hand.

It is obvious Mr. Bass fails to recognize the errors of his ways in this situation.