SIS checks

The Dom Post reports:

Prime Minister John Key will seek assurances about the Security Intelligence Service’s vetting of recruits to highly sensitive government jobs after it failed to spot the doctored CV of a former Immigration boss.

Mr Key said he had not been aware of the failure till Friday, when Mary Anne Thompson was fined $10,000 and sentenced to 100 hours’ community service for falsely claiming to have a London School of Economics PhD.

He believed SIS checks had been improved but it sounded “very sloppy” and he would seek assurances it would not be repeated.

“… I will raise it with them and satisfy myself that they have covered off that particular situation so we don’t see a repeat of it.

“If someone’s at a level where they require an SIS check for their job, then by definition, they are either in an important position or a sensitive role and, on that basis, you’d expect a thorough check to be performed by the SIS, and that’s certainly my expectation.”

I wonder if the PM is being too harsh on the SIS. I’ve undergone and been a referee for those undergoing SIS checks.

My assumption was that the SIS are not a glorified employment agency, and it wasn’t their job to check every detail of someone’s CV. That can be done by well an employment agency.

What the SIS checks tend to be about is checking character, referees, any Police involvement, travel to unfriendly countries, excessive drinking etc.

I just think it is somewhat a waste of SIS resources to have them ringing up universities asking for confirmation of degrees – that is a job that can be done by anyone.