Housing board likely to call for broader background checks

The Las Vegas Housing Authority Board, at a meeting next week, is expected to enact broader screening procedures for applicants to its buildings.

The change in background checks comes after several meetings between the authority and Metro Police after a Las Vegas Sun article and editorial examining a loophole in the screening process.

Currently, the LVHA conducts background checks on prospective tenants through Metro. Those checks, however, only detail crimes within Metro's jurisdiction.

As a result, the authority would not know if a person was a convicted rapist, murderer or drug offender from another state.

The proposed changes -- which will be voted on Tuesday -- allow the LVHA to conduct background checks through the Nevada Highway Patrol and the FBI, similar to the checks already conducted by the North Las Vegas Housing Authority.

"It looks like we're finally getting this done," said LVHA commissioner Dewain Steadman.

If the new procedures are enacted, the LVHA will screen all prospective tenants by sending their fingerprints to the NHP. The highway patrol will only submit fingerprints to the FBI if the applicant is identified as having a record outside Nevada.

The cost for each state search with NHP is $15. FBI searches will be $24 each.

Deloris Sawyer, LVHA housing programs manager, is seeking the board's approval for $39,197 to cover an estimated 1,000 searches at $39 each and $197 for a fingerprint kit.

The LVHA currently pays Metro $7 for each check it conducts.

North Las Vegas officials, who switched to the national checks last year, said that while there are no hard statistics, it's their strong perception that the the broader screenings have played a role in reducing crime in public housing and making residents feel safer.

The Clark County Housing Authority is also considering expanding its screening procedures to include state and national background checks.

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