If there is any news in the past years that has left everyone shell-shocked, it’s that most schools are not as safe as we would like them to be. When parents drop off their kids at school in the morning, they want to believe that they are in a safe environment that does not pose any kind of threat to their safety and security. However, the harsh truth is that this is often not the case because many schools do not conduct criminal checks for school staff. In reality, schools...

Schools are meant to be safe havens for children. But the slew of sexual assaults and murders of innocent children on the school premises has put India on guard. Today, there is a need for thorough identity verification for school staff and comprehensive evaluation of all the people who are allowed to come into contact with children in schools. It can be highly challenging keeping track of staff and visitors when they visit schools. While CCTV cameras do aid visitor management in schools, it can become difficult to monitor and...

Why school safety is important Over the past few years, the alarming spate of criminal acts in schools has grabbed the headlines. A student of class 2 was found murdered in a prominent school in Gurugram. Four cases of murders were recorded in 2017 on school premises in Delhi, while other states have had their share of gruesome acts committed on students. In Bangalore, three minors were recently caught in connection with the murder of a sixteen-year-old just outside the school campus. Molestation and rape cases have also seen a...

The first form of closed-circuit television (CCTV) technology emerged in Germany in 1942, when a German engineer Walter Bruch designed a system to monitor V-2 rockets. It is only after 1949 that the technology entered mainstream commercial markets, but it still required the expertise of specialist engineers for installation. But gone are those days now because CCTV cameras can be installed by anyone, anywhere. Whether it's a shopping mall, commercial center, a brick-and-mortar retail store, or a restaurant, CCTV cameras are a common sight everywhere. But their use in today's...

Background verification has become one of the desperate needs for schools, especially in the wake of recent incidents of child abuse and murders across schools. It is imperative for schools to conduct a thorough background check on every incoming visitor- be it teaching staff or non-teaching admin, blue collar, visitor, drivers, maids etc. Complete vigilance on movement of individuals is needed and needs to be ensured through real time identity verification. Similarly, schools need to dig deep into a candidate’s attitude and skills through profile and reputation checks before hiring....

After a huge hue and cry over safety and security issues in schools around Delhi-NCR, Police has attempted to make background verification of staff members mandatory. A lot of schools still don’t understand the process and the concept. Here’s a quick primer for all- What is background verification? Background verification is a risk mitigation practice to uncover any discrepancies/ false information provided by the candidate in his/her job application. It is a multi-layered process, to support on-boarding of good talent by verifying the identity, profile and reputation of the candidate....

Address of residence of an individual is one piece of information which is crucial to gauge an individual’s accessibility. While this information is treated casually by many, it has severe repercussions. Fake addresses can lead to loss of access I times of emergency, failed background verifications and loss of crucial insights while conducting research in criminal background using an individual’s address. 15% of prospects were found out to be providing incorrect previous addresses as per a recent market survey. Address verification is a critical component of background verification because it...

Identity fraud affects more than 17 million consumers every year and is set to reach 50 million according to a Forbes survey. $16 billion was stolen from 15.4 million U.S. consumers in 2016 compared with $15.3 billion and 13.1 million victims last year according to the 2017 Identity Fraud Study, released by Javelin Strategy & Research. In the past 6 years identity thieves have stolen over $107 billion. The numbers are indicative of the condition of identity crisis world over and beyond. With 9.9 million incidents in the US, every...

Human tendencies to forge for an attractive job In a massive employment market where finding a job is a tough call, people are resorting to unfair means like ‘misrepresentation of qualifications/credentials’ in order to appear more attractive for a hefty job. Schools are considered scared institutions for children, hence the staff taken in must be thoroughly verified and their credentials validated. While some of these actions are fairly apparent to the hiring managers, not all misrepresentations will be easily found out until a background check is conducted. Background check is...

Criminal background checks of prospective employees and sometimes on customers is considered as an ‘essential’ across corporates. Reasons could be many; adherence to global, national or state law requirements, risk mitigation of bad hiring or simply to prevent frauds. However, the education institutions ecosystems across schools have not institutionalized this practice. With recent outrage amongst the parents following unfortunate cases across schools, CBSE released a 117-point safety checklist. Police verification, an important aspect of criminal background check, was made mandatory as a part of these CBSE Guidelines. The major reasons...