One Colorado Sheriff's Office transformed background investigations for everyone involved by using Vetted – NEOGOV's modern, centralized software designed to streamline public safety hiring.
Article Highlights
- An Outdated System: More Risk, Less Reward
- For Administrators: Regaining Visibility and Control
- For Investigators: Replacing Frustration with Flexibility
- For Candidates: A Modern, Digital Experience
- The Results Are In: Everyone Wins
When the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office decided to upgrade their approach to background investigations, the goal wasn’t just to improve hiring – it was to fix a system that was inefficient, time-consuming, and frustrating for everyone involved: the administrators overseeing the process, the BIs doing the work, and the candidates applying to serve.
At the center of this transformation was Deputy Chris Smith, who not only championed the adoption of Vetted, NEOGOV’s public safety background investigation software, but also witnessed firsthand how it changed collaboration, communication, and compliance at every step.
An Outdated System: More Risk, Less Reward
The tipping point came when Deputy Smith and agency Supervisors realized just how fragmented the Sheriff’s Office’s background process had become.
“It was messy,” he said. “We had people using paper, people using fillable PDFs, scanning stuff, uploading to network drives – there was no continuity.”
Without a centralized system, background investigation tracking was difficult and inefficient. The Sheriff’s Office couldn’t see how BIs were progressing or what was holding up a background investigation. There was no centralized way to pull information for supervisors and command staff about the overall big picture of background investigations, like how many were pending, how many were disqualified, how many passed, and more.
But Vetted changed all of that.
For Administrators: Regaining Visibility and Control
Vetted has made it easy for Administrators at the Sheriff’s Office to track and manage workloads, reassign cases, and identify bottlenecks in the process – while also ensuring compliance and security across every touchpoint.
The system supports more effective collaboration while protecting access to sensitive data. Supervisors can decide exactly who sees what using the custom role access feature. HR, for example, now only accesses finalized background materials at the end, keeping sensitive data confidential while ensuring HR can act on completed background investigations.
They also gained something that was missing for years: visibility and applicant accountability.
With all their workflows built into one system, the Sheriff’s Office now has real-time oversight across every stage. Supervisors can view every open background investigation, track its status, and even reassign cases to help balance the workloads. “If I go on vacation or a BI is away, I can just reassign a case without any disruption,” Deputy Smith explained.
What’s more, Vetted equips them with reporting insights to identify where delays are occurring in the process – often before the background process even begins.
“Command staff now know where each applicant is in the process, whether they’re filling out the PHS, the background investigation is being worked, or it’s in the approval workflow,” Deputy Smith said. “That’s a big win.”
“Just being able to track when someone has submitted their form – that alone saves hours.” |
For BIs: Replacing Frustration with Flexibility
The transition to Vetted wasn’t immediately embraced by everyone – especially more seasoned BIs who were used to their routines. But once they got accustomed to the system, the difference was night and day.
BIs no longer have to manually email forms, wait blindly for applicants to respond, chase down missing information, or decipher illegible handwriting. Instead, candidates are sent digital PHS forms to fill out directly in Vetted, and required fields help ensure nothing gets skipped.
Having everything in one centralized place means BIs can track candidates’ progress in real time and work more efficiently while maintaining full accountability. Vetted sends notifications when applicants finish their PHS forms to help BIs promptly complete their assigned tasks.
“Just being able to track when someone has submitted their form,” said Deputy Smith, “that alone saves hours.”
For Candidates: A Modern, Digital Experience
For applicants, the old process was slow and manual – often involving paper packets or fillable PDFs. Personal history statement (PHS) forms were usually returned incomplete, with some fields skipped entirely.
With Vetted, candidates complete their PHS forms digitally, from any device, and are guided through required fields – driving a significant improvement in both completeness and speed. Many candidates have commented on how much smoother the process feels compared to other agencies – and even compared to the Sheriff’s Office’s pre-Vetted days.
“I’ve had people that applied here before say, ‘This is way better than the last time,’” Deputy Smith shared. “Applicants are even filling them out on their phones.”
That improvement matters to Larimer County Sheriff’s Office because better candidate experiences increase the likelihood that quality applicants complete the process and stick with it. Supervisors have already seen the impact of this since implementing Vetted.
“We’ve gotten more completed PHS forms than ever before, and submissions are faster and more complete,” Deputy Smith said. “It’s more work for our team, but it’s a good problem to have.”
“We’re finding better candidates. We’re working smarter. And we’re doing it in a way that protects our process and our people.” |
The Results Are In: Everyone Wins
For Deputy Smith, Supervisors, and the rest of Larimer County Sheriff's Office, Vetted didn’t just improve one aspect of their process – it created a connected, transparent, and secure system that works for everyone.
From visibility and compliance, to real-time updates and accountability, to a modern and accessible application – the benefits of using NEOGOV’s background investigation software are clear.
“We’re finding better candidates. We’re working smarter,” Deputy Smith emphasized. “And we’re doing it in a way that protects our process and our people.”
