CARMEL, N.Y. – A brand new law was recently enacted in the town of Carmel in New York which now requires anyone who wants to work there to submit themselves to fingerprint identification and a background check before being allowed to proceed.

The requirement itself was originally proposed by the town’s Deputy Supervisor, Frank Lombardi. The main goal of the new law was apparently his way of keeping the community safe and as a move to give residents some peace of mind.

“About a year ago, I was watching a TV show about employees of private companies who were accused of child endangerment and they turned out to be predators. They hadn’t done a background check. So we decided to make sure the public—especially the children—is protected.” Lombardi had mentioned.

Any new applicants in the town will now need to submit their fingerprints, which are then sent to a hub in Westchester County. A background check based on the name and the fingerprint is then run through a national database in the Division of Criminal Justice in Albany. For the sake of privacy, only the supervisor and the town’s clerk have access to the reports as they would be the one to determine if an applicant is allowed to proceed. It was also noted that a criminal record does not necessarily automatically disqualify an applicant as it would greatly depend on what the conviction was and the type of crime that was committed.

The law was put to a public hearing just recently which went without any opposition. Lombardi mentioned that the law itself was a great idea and actually made a lot of sense in light of what has been happening in other parts of the country. He then mentioned that they actually had not experienced any of those problems in their town, but that it was better to be safe than sorry.