Security Clearance Criteria on Debt
The Adjudicative Guidelines for decisions involving security clearances identify financial considerations as a factor in the clearance process. Financial considerations are important due to concerns that if debt problems exist, an applicant (or a person seeking renewal of a security clearance) may resort to selling secret information or committing other security breaches.
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Correlations
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In a 2002 technical report conducted by the Defense Personnel Security Research Center, financial motivations were cited as the most compelling reason given by employees for committing espionage with foreign intelligence agencies in 56 percent of all cases. When multiple factors were present, money was one of the motivating factors in 69 percent of all cases. When comparing motives of civilians with military personnel, money was cited as the primary motive for espionage in 59 of 73 cases involving military personnel versus 45 of 77 cases involving civilian violators.
Considerations
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Adjudicative Guidelines identify nine conditions that could raise security concerns relating to finances. These are inability or unwillingness to satisfy debts; frivolous spending; illegal financial practices; habitual inability to meet financial obligations; excessive indebtedness and/or cash flow problems; presence of addictions to alcohol, drugs or gambling; failure to file or fraudulent filing of tax returns; unexplained affluence, and debts caused by addictions.
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Mitigating Factors
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Mitigating factors are considered in the application process. These factors include isolation of the condition, length of time since the occurrence, conditions beyond the applicant's control, whether counseling was sought, good-faith efforts to repay creditors, documented proof of the reasonableness for disputing a bill, and where affluence was obtained from a legal income source.
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References
- Photo Credit debt defined image by Christopher Walker from Fotolia.com
