Criminal-background checks will be required for new employees -- but not current workers -- of the University City District following the arrest of a maintenance worker who allegedly committed several burglaries while on duty.
Crew Warrenton was taken into custody by Penn Police on Aug. 28 after neighbors became suspicious when he entered a residence near the intersection of 41st Street and Baltimore Avenue.
Warrenton is not new to the criminal justice system; he was previously sentenced to five to 20 years in prison for burglary. He has reportedly amassed more than 20 arrests and 12 convictions. He also reportedly used up to 23 different aliases.
UCD likely knew little of Warrenton's past, as it required no criminal-background checks for maintenance workers, nor did OneSource, the UCD subcontractor that hired him.
Lori Klein Brennan, a UCD spokeswoman, was quick to emphasize the positive aspects of the no-check policy.
"We believe strongly in giving people a second chance," she said.
"When we started in 1997, we prided ourselves on employing people without stellar backgrounds and giving them an opportunity to rehabilitate themselves."
Until Warrenton's arrest, UCD had never experienced a problem with crime among its employees, Brennan added.
Laurie Robinson, director of Penn's Master's in Criminology program, said that background checks can be a double-edged sword.
"It's a matter of balancing safety with the question of whether we want -- as a society -- to encourage ex-offenders to become contributing, tax-paying members of the community."
Robinson added, though, that the objective of providing second chances does not mean that background checks are necessarily always counterproductive.
"Clearly," she said, "research has shown ... that [the crime rate] among people with prior criminal histories is higher."
Still, there is also the question of whether it is ethical to hold prior offenses against a potential employee.
Pennsylvania Director of the American Civil Liberties Union Larry Frankel said that while the organization has no opinion on private-sector background checks, government-mandated checks could in fact punish a convict twice for the same crime.
"At some point," he said, "you've served your criminal sentence and that should be your [only] punishment."
Robinson also made the distinction between examining prior convictions and simply looking at arrest records.
It is unfair to count arrests against a person, she said, because doing so negates the presumption of innocence.
There is a catch, however, in that class differences can result is varying dispositions of criminal cases, Robinson said.
Equality "is an issue to be considered in that middle- and upper-class families frequently have the ability to pay for lawyers who are successful in getting cases diverted from court."
Despite any ethical tradeoffs, UCD seems to be ready to emphasize safety over second chances.
UCD has amended its contract with OneSource to ensure that the criminal histories of any new maintenance employees are scrutinized. If convictions for felonies or select lesser offenses are found, the person will not be hired.
Employees currently working at UCD, though, will not undergo a background check for the time being.
Because they were hired before the contract was amended, they are not subject to the changes.
Brennan said that UCD is talking with OneSource and Service Employees International Union Local 36 -- the labor union that represents the workers -- and is "exploring options" with regards to existing employees.
OneSource did not immediately return a call seeking comment. Union officials could not be reached yesterday afternoon. (*)
CORRECTION: A company spokeswoman was reached, but no comment was available by press time.
