Acting on information from another agency, Tufts police arrested an adult male last week in Carmichael Dining Hall for failing to register with the state as a level 3 sex offender.
The man worked for an outside employment agency hired by Dining Services. He was not a Tufts employee.
At 10 a.m. on Friday, Dec. 2, Tufts University Police Department (TUPD) officers entered Carmichael and apprehended the man. The University had been alerted by the Quincy Police Department.
"We got a call from Quincy PD, who indicated they had information that there was an individual they had a warrant for who was working in one of our dining halls," TUPD Captain Mark Keith said. "We made the arrest and transferred him to Somerville District Court."
Sex offenders must notify the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Sex Offender Registry Board when they change either their home address or place of employment.
"Where the Board determines that the risk of reoffense is high and the degree of dangerousness posed to the public is such that a substantial public safety interest is served by active dissemination, it shall give a level 3 designation to the sex offender," the Board's Web site reads.
Keith would not release the name of the man or the employment agency.
Director of Dining and Business Services Patricia Klos also would not release the name of the employment agency.
The University has worked with the agency for several years, she said, and the agency puts "a great deal of security and foresight" into its hires.
"For this particular agency I didn't require security clearance," Klos said. "For another agency I do."
Keith said he is unaware of anything similar happening previously at Tufts.
Since the man worked at Tufts through an employment agency, he did not go through the University's hiring process.
Tufts currently verifies the references of prospective employees and requires proof of citizenship, but Klos said the policies may be updated.
According to both Keith and Klos, Tufts has no unified employee screening policy. The process is generally left up to the specific employer within the University - such as Dining Services.
Security screening is "under great discussion at an executive level," Klos said.
"In the catering operation...we have been working with HR [Human Resources] and Public Safety in developing guidelines of minimum security requirements."
The University is "moving towards a policy and a way to implement it," she said.
