After it was discovered that a sex offender was working as an informant for the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, local law enforcement officials have been discussing their hiring policies.

Patrol Cmdr. Jim Robinson of the Ames Police Department said background checks and other precautions prevent the hiring of a potential officer who might have a criminal background.

“We do a very extensive background investigation on all potential candidates,” he said.

Cmdr. Gene Deisinger of ISU Police said all potential officers must go through an “extensive background check.”

“We check criminal history, sex offender registries, [and] having firearms revoked in any states. It’s exhaustive,” he said.

Robinson said the department assigns investigators to run a criminal history check on all potential employees, as well as fingerprinting, polygraph tests and multiple interviews.

“Numerous interviews are conducted by past employers,” Robinson said. “Financial records are reviewed, educational transcripts are reviewed and verified and neighbors and associates of the candidate are interviewed.”

Robinson said finding criminal records among candidates is rare.

“We have not had anyone slip through that would have a criminal past that would exclude them from this position,” Robinson said.

Robinson said Ames Police holds its officers to high standards. After candidates go through the required field academy, field training and extensive background checks, all officers are put on probation for one year before being on duty.

Deisinger said, along with officers, informants are also given background checks based on how often they are used within the department.

“There’s background investigation done with informants, but not quite to the same degree,” he said. “Informants could be used a great deal or used just for a particular issue.”

Gordon Miller, spokesman for the Iowa Sex Offender Registry, said although states have their own laws concerning registered sex offenders, the person in question should have checked in with the registry, just in case.

“Generally speaking, if a person is registered at one state, if they move to another state they need to check with that state,” Miller said. “If a person comes to Iowa, they are required to register if they are registered in another state. Each state is different.”

Miller said a general definition of a sexual offense that would require one to register falls under two categories.

“Most of the offenses that require registration involved sexual activity with another person. Either force upon a person or [the person is] too young to give consent,” Miller said.

Craig “Doc” Hartline, 55, a convicted sex offender, moved to Minnesota last year and didn’t register in the state. He was then hired to be an informant for about four months. They set him up to buy drugs and guns in the back of a store in Warroad, Minn.

Agents rigged Hartline’s store with cameras and microphones. With Hartline’s aid, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension brought charges to 53 people.

“He was a confidential informant,” said MBCA assistant superintendent Dave Bjerga. “He operated a storefront operation, bought and sold used items that often times people brought in that were stolen. A lot of times people would sell him drugs.”

Hartline had been convicted of a sex offense in Massachusetts in 1993, which did not show up on initial criminal background checks.

“Hartline did not believe he had to register,” Bjerga said. “We ran a criminal history before he started working and sometime after and it came to our attention.”

Bjerga was unable to disclose the details of the offense.

Bjerga said that a backlog of information from Massachusetts caused a delay in updating Hartline’s criminal information.

“We weren’t aware of it until Massachusetts updated their records,” Bjerga said. “They finally got them up-to-date and that was when we became aware.”

Since Hartline’s records have been updated, he has registered as a sex offender in the state of Minnesota.

“Once we found out that he was noncompliant, he was registered that very same day. That’s usually what happens in noncompliance cases,” Bjerga said.

Miller said when registered sex offenders move to Iowa, the registry applies Iowa laws to their offenses.

In some cases, other states’ laws are harsher in views of certain sex offenses than Iowa’s. In some instances, being a registered sex offender doesn’t necessarily mean it will negatively affect chances of employment.

“It depends on the offense,” Miller said. “I cannot say if it affects employment.”