Background Investigation

Background/Character Investigation Any precinct or department may exclude from an examination any person because of: I. Dismissal of the application or eligible from the public service for good cause, or his resignation pending charges. II. Criminal, infamous, dishonest, immoral, or notoriously disgraceful or dissolute conduct, or bad character. III. The knowingly making of a false statement by any person in his application for examination, and every connivance by him at any false statement made in any accompanying certificates, or the commission of or attempt to commit any fraud against civil service law or rules or regulations or any complicity by him in any such fraud, before, during, or after any examination.1 This third point found above is actually, in short, the meaning of a background investigation. The background investigation is essentially a systematic collection of facts and opinions from persons who know / have known the particular candidate, and also from those persons who have custody of the records of his past.2 A report of the background investigator is reviewed, with accompanying documents to determine if that candidate will be acceptable to appoint as a police officer. The purpose of this background investigation process actually has three branches. The major objective is to see how the candidate behaved throughout many different circumstances and predict his performance as an officer in the future. The second is to verify as truthful all the statements made by the candidate. The third is to prevent that particular department from hiring a candidate that will prove to be unqualified for the position. The first step to the investigation procedure will include the investigator getting organized, and to do this he will need some basic documents. First of all, he will need to inform the candidate that he is being given serious consideration for appointment to the force. When this is done, the candidate will be required to submit a detailed history statement that will be the basis for the background investigation.3 Other documents that are most often required are: a birth certificate, diploma, driver