THE BURNED OVER DISTRICT

At least not at the beginning because no one checks to see if you are a member of the KKK. Later on when you act upon that membership, you might get into trouble, but that depends on how many of your colleagues have also joined.

There is no national requirement that aspiring police officers be screened for hate group membership, a fact brought to light by a recent incident involving Florida police officers who were reportedly linked to the Ku Klux Klan, according to a confidential FBI report.

On Saturday, Florida’s Fruitland Park Police Chief Terry Isaacs was given a confidential FBI report containing allegations that a deputy chief and a former police officer had links to the KKK, according to the Orlando Sentinel.

The report led to the resignation of Deputy Chief David Borst and the dismissal of officer George Hunnewell. Isaacs would not confirm the report specified the group as the KKK, describing it instead as a “subversive organization” because he was unauthorized to release details.

“It's unfortunately a very widespread phenomenon across the United States,” said Michael Novick, of the Los Angeles chapter of Anti-Racist Action (ARA). “You’d think there would be laws against this stuff, but there aren’t. There’s no law against being in the KKK and being an officer — though clearly it indicates a bias.”

Hiring is a decision left to each local police department, and in Florida there is no state-mandated screening process, Gretl Plessinger, a spokeswoman for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, said.

Although the KKK is considered a hate group by the U.S. government, it is not illegal to be a member of the group, and most police departments do not screen for such membership anyway, said Heidi Beirich, director of the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Intelligence Project, which tracks hate groups.

“I’m not sure what the exact remedy is,” Beirich said. “Of course they have to be fair to all races, but this brings up First Amendment issues.”

The center counted nearly 1,000 hate groups — defined as groups that have beliefs or practices that attack or malign an entire class of people — in the U.S. in 2013. Florida and California are the states with the greatest number of hate groups.

Some arms of the government, including the military, do prohibit hate group members from joining, she said.

But for police forces, there are currently no national screening standards for officers that would prevent their hiring because of membership in a hate group, Beirich said. Such a screening process would have to be mandated through city, county or state-level legislation.

An interesting situation. They can claim joining is a First Amendment right. But if they act upon the precepts of their "fraternal organization" they will break the law, if they are caught. So how do you keep the fools from putting themselves in the wrong?