Officials Say Background Check Could Have Prevented UTC "Spy-Cam" Incident

The University Tennessee-Chatanooga student charged with planting surveillance cameras in campus apartments may have had an easy "in".

A tv station learned Bernard Morris previously served as a Resident Assistant for the University.

Morris has a record of aggravated burglary and arson and harassment and stalking.

But UTC has not required background checks for this position.

Merri Mai Williamson, Founder and Chair-person of Application Researchers, says an employment background check could have prevented this situation.

Merri Mai Williamson, Application Researchers, LLC, "If they had done a background check on the individual, even though technically it wasn't an employment position, they would have discovered criminal offenses in his past. They were certainly relevant to what has happened now."

Application Researchers is a private investigative agency that specializes in pre-employment background checks.

Williamson says only a handful of colleges across the United States have implemented background checks.