This measure can significantly improve homeland security by providing a procedure to better screen private security personnel, using a check with the FBI’s national criminal history database to identify any disqualifying arrests or convictions. According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the private security industry holds responsibility for protecting up to 85 percent of the nation’s critical infrastructure. Ensuring that officers who perform these sensitive duties are not themselves terrorists or other potentially dangerous criminals is vital and will improve industry standards of professionalism.
Access to the FBI criminal database did not come easily. For more than 20 years, Guardsmark led efforts to incorporate this process into the background screening of security officers.