The pre-employment background investigations I conduct for law enforcement are compliant with the legal mandates required by the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST).  The following information is included in a pre-employment background investigation for law enforcement:

Employment eligibility, age verification, criminal records checks, driving record check, education verification, experience and employment history checks, relatives and personal reference checks, dissolution of marriage check, residence history/neighborhood checks, military history check, financial check, and social media history.

Evaluation criteria for these background investigations are based on the POST dimensions moral character, handling stress and adversity, work habits, interactions with others, and intellectually based abilities.

My name is David De Metz and I am the owner of De Metz Investigations.  I honorably retired as a lieutenant after more than two decades with the Claremont Police Department in Southern California, serving in roles including Field Training Officer, detective, K-9 coordinator, patrol supervisor, watch commander, and instructor in multiple disciplines.  I hold a bachelor's degree in criminal justice administration, am a graduate of the Sherman Block Strategic Leadership Institute, and hold a California POST management certificate.

Later in my career, I served as training manager and was responsible for recruitment, hiring, and onboarding — work I approached with the belief that finding the right people, those who put mission and team first, is the foundation of a strong police department.

I earned my California POST background investigator certification in 2015 and have extensive experience conducting background investigations for law enforcement and I understand the unique challenges with hiring.

Please contact me for the current fee schedule.

I conduct background investigations for all sworn, civilian, and volunteer positions in law enforcement.  Examples of these positions include, but are not limited to, police officers, reserve police officers, communications officers, jailers, police aides, records clerks, administrative assistants, community patrol volunteers, and community emergency response team members.

I conduct the entire investigation from start to finish.  This includes answering any follow-up questions that the agency might have about the candidate.

I coordinate with polygraph examiners.  Due to medical and psychological evaluations being conducted at the conditional job offer stage of the background investigation, I have the agency coordinate with them.

My typical turnaround time for a completed investigation is four to six weeks.  This turnaround time can be affected by the candidate's responsiveness with providing information, documentation availability, or travel outside the Southern California area.  I communicate in a timely manner with agencies to keep them updated.  I will conduct expedited background investigations for an additional fee.

I also partner with licensed and insured, retired, executive-level law enforcement background investigators who assist me as needed. This allows me to scale to meet your hiring demands.   

I am based in Claremont, California.  I cover Los Angeles County, San Bernardino County, Riverside County, and Orange County.

I am flexible with using the agency’s preferred format for the final report.  My only requirement is that the final report contain all POST-mandated requirements for a complete background investigation.

If your agency uses eSOPH, Guardian, or similar software, I am happy to work within it and will request limited access.  Outside of that, I communicate with candidates, references, and others by phone, email, and mail, and deliver a standardized, POST-compliant report regardless of platform.

I submit an invoice to the agency upon completion and delivery of the background investigation.

Yes, I carry commercial general liability insurance.  Proof of insurance is available upon request.

Absolutely.  I am available to supplement your existing background unit at any time.

To begin a background investigation, De Metz Investigations and the agency must execute a Client Service Agreement, as required by California Business and Professions Code 7524.  The Client Service Agreement includes the parties' identifying information, the start and completion dates, scope of investigation/services, labor services and materials, fee schedule, and signatures of both parties.  Written reports must be delivered to the agency within 30 days of completion of the background investigation.

The candidate will need to have signed and notarized release(s) and waiver(s) from the agency.  It would be helpful and more expeditious if the candidate has started or completed a California POST Personal History Statement (PHS) and been Live Scan fingerprinted by the agency.