The use of background checks has become more prevalent and is perceived as having crucial importance in hiring in the private sector, given the extent of employee crimes. In examining this phenomenon, security and administration scholars have promoted the general security necessity of such checks but have only focused on the application of legal and constitutional provisions relevant to the background check process. As a result, the security field has overlooked the theoretical bases for background checks and the theories addressing how background checks should be conducted. To address this gap, this article presents a qualitative meta-analysis of the theoretical literature from a variety of academic fields and identifies four overarching themes important for understanding background checks as a tool for hiring. Then, as an illustration, the article examines how well the regulation of background checks in the U.S. financial sector reflects theoretical findings, exposing critical gaps between research and practice. Thus, this analysis provides security practitioners with important guidance in how to effectively use background checks as a crime prevention tool.

考虑到员工犯罪的严重程度，背景调查的使用变得越来越普遍，并且被认为在私营部门的招聘中具有至关重要的意义。在研究这种现象时，安全和行政学者已经提出了此类检查的一般安全必要性，但只关注与背景调查过程相关的法律和宪法规定的应用。结果，安全领域忽视了背景调查的理论基础和解决背景调查应该如何进行的理论。为了弥补这一差距，本文对来自各个学术领域的理论文献进行了定性元分析，并确定了四个对于理解背景​​调查作为招聘工具很重要的总体主题。然后，作为例证，本文考察了美国金融部门对背景调查的监管如何反映了理论发现，揭示了研究与实践之间的重大差距。因此，该分析为安全从业人员提供了如何有效使用背景调查作为犯罪预防工具的重要指导。