Our prison populations have risen to alarming proportions but most people convicted of crimes will ultimately be released back into society and into the workplace. Many of these people will become good citizens and employees. However, their job search could include a resume that omits any reference to a criminal record. Your responsibility as a human resource manager is to provide workplace safety for all of your employees and to consider the type of crime and how far in the past it may have been before recruiting someone with a criminal record. See http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/crimoff.htm for criminal profiles.

Workplace violence is a growing concern nationwide.

Approximately two million violent crimes occur at work each year, and workplace violence costs employers $4 billion each year. Despite these numbers, many employers do not consider violence to be a realistic possibility in their workplaces. Many recent incidents, however, have focused national attention on this growing problem.

Employers may incur legal liability for failing to take adequate steps to prevent workplace violence. Further, the employer responsibility for violence can extend beyond the workplace. Employers should create a "zero-tolerance policy" that prohibits violence, intimidation, threats, verbal abuse, harassment, profanity and other disruptive and potentially dangerous behavior. The first step in this process must be a background check on all applicants. This has to be more than a state record check where the applicant now lives. In our mobile society up to 20% of the people move each year.
Embezzlement or theft from within a business organization directly reduces your bottom line. As much as we all want to trust our employees and co-workers, some of them are stealing from you. In fact, the average business loses the equivalent of 6 percent of revenue to fraud each year, and employees are the main culprits, according to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, a trade group based in Austin, TX.