Case Study

One of the main contractors used by the Host Committee to set up the floor and stage consideration is a company named Nationwide Professional Services (NPS). NPS has been contracted by the American Airlines Arena for the past five years, and also does venue setups and tear-downs for the Miami Beach Convention Center and other smaller venues. The vast majority of NPS employees are lower-waged individuals who are hired on an ad hoc basis at $10 an hour. NPS relies heavily on a labor pool provided by private employment agencies, as well as various faith-based groups that focus on the rehabilitation of homeless persons, mentally ill persons, and other individuals looking for a second chance at life. One of those faith-based groups is an organization named New Persons Ministries of South Florida. New Persons Ministries takes in individuals who have been convicted of various sexual crimes and who are currently on the State of Florida's Sexual Offender and Sexual Predator List. In the past, NPS has hired temporary employees provided by New Persons Ministries of South Florida. Major James Pratt is the Commander of the Miami-Dade Police Homeland Security Bureau, and for the DRNC event he is in charge of credentialing all persons who need to access the Arena, or any other venue associated with the week-long event. It is a huge endeavor because it requires background checks on all individuals requiring access credentials. This includes law enforcement personnel, all the convention delegates, all Arena employees, television and press media, and all temporary workers. Every person who enters the secure area within the venue must have a photograph credential provided by Major Pratt's Homeland Security Bureau.

Without a credential, the individual will be denied access. While Major Pratt oversees the entire credentialing operation, the person who is actually tasked with supervising the criminal background checks is Lieutenant Victor Bass. One morning three  weeks prior to the start of the event, Lieutenant Bass came by Major Pratt's office to discuss an important matter.

"Major... do you have a moment?"

"Sure, come on in Vic... what's up?"

"We just did a batch of background checks on some of the NPS temporary workers... You know

NPS is the company that builds the stage and sets up the interior..."

"Yes, I'm aware of NPS. What about it?"

Lieutenant Bass went on, "well... it turns out that 10 of their new temps are convicted felons... seven of those are on Florida's Sexual Offender List, and two of those seven are registered Sexual Predators. We're going to have to deny their request for access credentials."

"That's fine with me... thanks for letting me know," answered Major Pratt. Bass continued, "well... the problem is not on our end... the problem is that some lady named Tia Delaney from the Host Committee found out about the workers being rejected and she went
into a tizzy. Do you know who Tia Delaney is?"

Pratt answered, "Yes, she's the chair of the Hospitality Subcommittee. She's been a real good partner with us, and has been very helpful with everything we have asked from her. I'll give her a call and find out what the issue is with these seven sexual offenders. I'll listen to what she has to say, but as it stands now, hold onto the credentials for these seven until I get back to you." "Will do, Major," responded Lieutenant Bass.

Assignment Instructions

For the purpose of this assignment, you are playing the role of Major Pratt, who will be making the ultimate decision as to whether the seven registered sexual offenders will be issued credentials to gain access to the secured area inside the American Airlines Arena venue. After speaking with Ms. Delaney, you were told that the seven sexual offenders were part of a community rehabilitation project headed by the faith-based organization New Persons Ministries of South Florida. Ms. Delaney told you that this organization has the full backing of County Manager Miguel Herrera.

You need to research the sex offender treatment programs available to determine if the offenders completed the treatment still pose a risk. In an essay of a minimum of 1,200 words, respond to the following questions:

What risk do the sex offenders pose to the attendees of the DRNC?

Is there a significant difference between those individuals on the Sexual Offender List, and those on the Sexual Predator List?

Other than the security issue, what other considerations may play in your decisionmaking process?

After taking into consideration all the information that has been provided to you, what is your decision regarding the credentialing (i.e., allowing access) to the seven registered sexual offenders employed by NPS?