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December 23, 2006
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Snoops for Cash
Sorry I didn't have my camera with me, but I saw a great billboard in Red Bank, TN, for a service provided by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation advertising their willingness to sell you a background check for $29.00. Yes, the state agency does it for a fee. Download the form, fax it in, wait for the results and know what's up. Their webpage asks, "Why Judge a Book by its Cover?"
I did click on the FAQ and find this, which suggests that the TBI isn't all that thrilled about doing this kind of work either:
Why is there a fee associated with the checks?Note that "forced".
The TBI was forced to launch a new unit to process background checks for the general public. A portion of the $29 fee is used to cover salaries and other administrative costs. Any money earned above and beyond that will be used to offset budget cuts sustained by the Bureau over the past two years.
Of course, given the long, narrow shape of Tennessee (Chattanooga's metro area runs into Georgia and Alabama isn't far at all, Memphis is next to Mississippi and Arkansas, and Nashville is spitting distance to Kentucky) I wonder how useful a one-state-only background check would be.
Posted by CrankyProfessor at December 23, 2006 2:29 PM