back grown check

[RonFrank]

Seems to me the OP is really asking how do we as a society, and parents protect our kids from predators. The suggestion is Background checks.

The reality is that more legislation would not have prevented most problems in the past. Do churches do background checks? Maybe they should. Where are your kids safe?

As a father, my thought is that we do our best to make sure the activities, people and places our children spend time have a good track record. Is this fool proof... no.

I'm sure many will disagree, but I think that our government is NOT going to protect my kid from much of anything. He is, or will be exposed to Drugs, Language, Alcohol, and maybe even encouraged by peers towards criminal behavior. My job is to have raised him so he fly's straight, knows right and wrong, and makes good choices.

 

[pir8]

Nothing personal but it already cost me plenty to maintain Instructor credentials. Put another cost, background checks, and you will lose some instructors. I have in the past taught kids, parents are welcome as long as the don't interject in the class. So far no complaints.

 

[Karen Cleveland]

For heaven's sake keep the legislature out of diving!

Exactly!

 

[clown trigger]

Don't care about specifics...any molester should be beaten, castrated then shot IMHO
What if the person(s) in question have not been caught at any deviant actions, what good does a background check do then?

In this day and age if they won't let you stay around in class or you have a bad gut feeling, move on to another shop.

 

[TxHockeyGuy]

Nothing personal but it already cost me plenty to maintain Instructor credentials. Put another cost, background checks, and you will lose some instructors. I have in the past taught kids, parents are welcome as long as the don't interject in the class. So far no complaints.

I don't know if this was a response to my post or not. In case it was....

I prefer no background checks at all. I think they do very little good and create all kinds of problems. All I am saying is if the diving community had to do something to head off legislation, I think that would be the best to roll that into the agency. The worst thing that could happen would be legislated background checks because they would be very rigid, probably be implemented poorly, and wouldn't help much if any no matter how they were implemented.

 

[scubadiver1302001]

most dive stores have a pool and it is regulated be legislation and the stores are leguiated to pay taxs.
these legislation do not govern scuba dive, they govern the store.
legislation for background checks are the a stores thing, not scuba diving thing.
so if it is legislated to do background checks it is for the store and not diving.

 

[diversteve]

Maybe it's my politics but I don't feel that it's in anyone's best interest to legislate background checking for personnel working at LDS's.

I pretty much see the same faces year to year at the LDS's I frequent so I'm not sure if the small turnover - at least in this area - justifies it either.

And just in the course of this thread, we've discovered that two local LDS's - Scuba Sciences and Scuba Specialities - do conduct background checks of their employees. So there's 13 others in this area that may also.

Do you know for a fact that any or all of the others do not? Even the one involved in this incident may be doing that now as a matter of policy - at least they should be.

So are you trying to legislate an non-issue?

Maybe conduct your own private survey of all the local LDS's and report the results here.

Here's the list:

http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=172306

 

[pir8]

I don't know if this was a response to my post or not. In case it was....

I prefer no background checks at all. I think they do very little good and create all kinds of problems. All I am saying is if the diving community had to do something to head off legislation, I think that would be the best to roll that into the agency. The worst thing that could happen would be legislated background checks because they would be very rigid, probably be implemented poorly, and wouldn't help much if any no matter how they were implemented.

No it wasn't in response to any post in particular, more a post in frustration to the shotgun effect response to a problem in society today. Personally I think a pedophile should be castrated but only after there is no doubt in a court of law. Then the SOB shouldn't see the light of day ever again.

 

[Dive-aholic]

Personally, I won't teach children without other adults around. In today's society, it's just not smart. An accusation of any wrongdoing, whether there was wrongdoing or not, can ruin your life. I want witnesses around to be able to prove I didn't do anything. If the parents aren't certified, then I won't train a child. When will the child dive if the parents aren't divers? If they're already certified, I want them at all the water sessions, even if there are other adults in the class. If something happens to the child, I don't want to take responsibility. It's the parents' responsibility to make sure their kids are safe. And I can do all this because I work independently.

When I was associated with a shop I did a Bubblemaker party and the DM (a female) was swimming around and purging her alternate reg under the girls legs. She was just doing it in fun, but I didn't think it was appropriate. IMO, it was just asking for trouble. I was new to instructing and just decided I wouldn't do Bubblemakers anymore.

BTW, the GM in question no longer works for the LDS. When the owner found out, the GM was terminated. Can we now end this discussion?