THE HILL
 

Criminals may have been hired for census

By Eric Zimmermann - 10/08/09 11:12 AM ET

Errors by Census Bureau employees may have resulted in 200 people with criminal records being hired to conduct door-to-door canvassing.

The Census Bureau typically takes fingerprints and performs background checks on workers hired to interact with the public. But a report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that tens of thousands of workers were improperly fingerprinted by bureau employees.

The GAO fears that the name-checks performed on those employees were not sufficient without fingerprints.

"It is possible that more than 200 people with unclassifiable prints had disqualifying criminal records but still worked and had contact with the public during address canvassing," Robert Goldenkoff of the GAO said in a report to a Senate subcommittee on Wednesday.

Goldenkoff cited the "adequacy of the bureau's training" as a reason for the improper fingerprints.

He said the bureau "will refine instruction manuals and provide remediation training on proper procedures" to prevent the problem from recurring.


Source:
http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/62237-criminals-have-been-hired-for-census-work

Comments (342)

No problem, they're ACORN voluteers that are serving their country. (note the sarcasm)BY njpro on 10/08/2009 at 12:22
A census should only be done by those who have had a complete background ckeck, is employed and is registered as an independent voter. Other than than opens the whole system up to fraud.BY Barry  on 10/08/2009 at 12:23
I have to wonder - how many of these Census Bureau workers were part of ACORN's efforts before they were ostracized and removed?This only goes to show - if the government and it's assigned agents can't do something simple like background checks, like running a census, or operating a simple rail road then HOW CAN THEY HOPE TO RUN HEALTHCARE?BY Robert on 10/08/2009 at 12:24
I can't wait until these total morons in D.C. control my health careBY The doc on 10/08/2009 at 12:26
Not one word to the Cnesus takers except how many people live in the house, period.BY ricardo maxwell on 10/08/2009 at 12:26
Two problems with your article. First, it says "It is posisble that more than 200 people with unclassifiable prints had disqualifying criminal records but still worked and had contact with the public during address canvassing," Robert Goldenkoff of the GAO said in a report to a senate subcommittee yesterday.But your headline says that criminals were hired. The title implies that they were hired but the quote says "It is possible" they had criminal records. Very misleading.Second point (and I'm a conservative so don't label me as some left wingnut that aligns with the Democrat party), is that just because someone made a mistake and committed a crime and paid for their crime by serving prison time does not mean that they are still criminals. In America we are supposed to believe that once people do wrong but do their time as the court requires they should get a fair chance at starting again. Some of those people will return to crime, but some will turn their lives around (check out Chuck Colson's organization Prison Fellowship to see significant successes with rehabilitation for non-violent offenders). People should be allowed to start their lives over and get jobs and make a new life.BY Dave R on 10/08/2009 at 12:26
So what… The rest of our government is a bunch of criminals led by the thug-in-chief so whats the big deal?BY DanInOregon on 10/08/2009 at 12:28
I read the title and thought they were referring to ACORN…BY Frank Jones on 10/08/2009 at 12:29
Don;t pay them a commission. Our population will double.BY Jack Kinch1uncle on 10/08/2009 at 12:30
I have no criminal record and I can't find a job to save my life. Here we have ex-cons making good money while potentially putting the lives of people in danger.Damn, life is good under Obama!BY Mitch Haase on 10/08/2009 at 12:31

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