Fingerprinting of Coaches in Youth Sports Urged
A city recreation commission is recommending that the City Council approve a program next week requiring fingerprinting of all coaches in youth sports.
The Community Services Commission voted Tuesday night to recommend that the city become the apparent first one in California to require fingerprinting of 2,300 coaches and others officials to detect convicted sex offenders.
The commission decided the leagues would do the fingerprinting with city-provided equipment. But the city, rather than West Covina’s sports leagues, would receive the results. Under the recommendation forwarded to the council, the city would decide which coaches or other officials would be banned.
Tom Hatch, community services director, said the city has a special agreement with the state’s Department of Justice that local officials will be alerted if a coach is convicted of a sex-related crime after he or she is fingerprinted.
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