Posted on 11/27/2002 11:10:23 AM PST by kattracks
WASHINGTON, Nov 27, 2002 (AP Online via COMTEX) -- The Boy Scouts of America will require criminal background checks of new adult volunteers beginning next year, it announced Wednesday.
"New volunteers to the Boy Scouts will have to submit for criminal background checks as of this spring," spokesman Gregg Shields said. The checks will be based on new application forms in which the applicant gives permission for the checks to be done, he said. The forms must be filled out by adult volunteers for scouting's varied arms, including Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts and Explorer.
Those who do not get clearance won't be allowed to join, Shields said.
The organization's national executive council engaged ChoicePoint, an information management company, to handle the program, which scouting will call VolunteerSelect, Shields said. ChoicePoint will review national and state government databases, he said.
The requirement will take effect April 1, allowing time for the new forms to be distributed and for the policy change to be explained to all of scouting's volunteers, Shields said.
The spokesman says the backgrounds of current adult volunteers are not being checked. But he says that might be required in years to come. There are 1.2 million adult volunteers in scouting, but the number of new volunteers varies from year to year, Shields said.
'We have as our highest goal to protect the children involved in Boy Scouting," Shields said. "To date, it's been difficult to do such a background check because all of the data is not in one spot."
Membership will be prohibited if the checks turn up convictions for sex crimes, crimes of violence, or drug offenses.
Findings in the background checks will be divulged only to the chief executive of a regional scouting council, who would tell local-level scouting officials only that an applicant does not meet the standard, Shields said. Those who are rejected will be given the opportunity to review and challenge any adverse information.
Other youth organizations, such as Little League, already require background checks of adult volunteers.
The background checks will supplement existing requirements for youth protection, which are conducted on regional and local levels, Shields said.
By IRA DREYFUSS Associated Press Writer
Copyright 2002 Associated Press, All rights reserved
In the punishment-never-ends paradigm, in which criminals are released early or never even jailed, even though they can't be trusted to buy guns or work with children, leads to a society in which all people must constantly undergo "background checks" to prove they aren't criminal. Being demanded to "show one's papers," isn't exactly the measure of a free society, although a police state admittedly only properly applies when the government requires the showing of papers.
To answer your questions, no I don't support pedophiles gaining jobs at BSA. But, I don't like having to prove my innocence because others are criminal, which the BSA would now require of me should I wish to work for them. As more and more private companies and organizations require this, the need for a national identity card, "to streamline the background check process," or some other comparable government service to monitor and track citizens, will increase. It is this inevitable process which I object to, and which I see the Boy Scouts accelerating.
The government monitoring innocent people, registering firearms, recording your keystrokes, checking your financial transactions is a different matter.
Private organizations are private and can put up cameras, investigate those who choose to become involved with them and look up your ass all they want. Unlike a government mandated inititiative, you have the choice to walk away and not participate.
They are private, and you can not associate with them. This is what you call FREEDOM. Y'all need to learn the difference between a governmental and non-governmental organization.
Please see my response in post 25.
In the same way that a single straw breaks a camel's back. When enough private companies and organizations decide to go with background checks, (1) I will have to be proving my innocence all over the place, grocery stores, libraries, etc., and (2) there are sure to be new government agencies, paid for by my money, to support all the requests for background check information. They may even issue non-criminals new "papers" to establish non-criminality.
I would prefer that criminals be locked up and I left free to go about my business.
The problem with this is that up to this point, the BSA, by not doing these checks and making it a standard that the sponsors were to do so, weren't responsible for flaws in Scouters' backgrounds. Now that they are doing the checks, they will share in the responsibility for any mistakes.
Unlike what a previous poster opined, I doubt that this will keep any gays out of the organization. I can only think that the organization they are contracting with will check legal records.
The company's web site likes to brag about what good corporate citizens they are. People get nervous about companies that make money out of investigating and selling information about people's private lives. I wonder what kind of deal the BSA is getting here?
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