Retail Observer

RETAILOBSERVER.COM NOVEMBER 2022 64 S E R V I C E D E P A R T M E N T M ost small business owners don't get the police involved when they catch an employee stealing from them. While 64 percent of small businesses have experienced employee theft, only 16 percent of those reported the incident to the police. A study by Jay Kennedy, a University of Cincinnati criminal justice doctoral student found four main reasons why employers are hesitant to get the authorities involved. 1. No real victims: The business owner does not see the victimization as serious enough to warrant his or her time and trouble beyond firing the employee. 2. Attorney advised against it: The business owner seeks counsel from a third party, usually his or her attorney, who often advises that the employer's cost in time and effort for a successful prosecution outweigh any likely benefits to the employer as was realized by one employer who had over $100,000 stolen and was put on probation by the court and ordered to pay restitution at the rate of $ 50 per month. In essence, the employer never recouped the total amount stolen. 3. Emotional ties: Many of those employees caught in the theft have worked alongside the business owners for many years, and may even be family. Small businesses have a strong intimate environment that lends itself to knowing the person or the spouse and children. Not a very comfortable position for anyone to be in. 4. Business owners see the police/criminal justice system as ineffective or incompetent: Since thefts by employees may involve complex finances that are not the specialty of the beat cop, small businesses often assume that a responding officer won't have the business background to appreciate or even, initially, do much about a reported crime other than write up a report. Studies reveal that most of the thefts do not happen as a one- time incident, but represent an employee who steals over time, like Robert from last month's article. (A great technician who depends on situational ethics to enhance his take-home pay.) According to the study, 61 percent of reported thefts were ongoing schemes and ranged in duration from a low of about two weeks to a high of 20 years with the average duration of a theft scheme being in the 16-month range. So why is prosecuting employee theft important in our business? While most employees are good people and would never think of stealing, some will, and it doesn't matter how much you pay them. They are not stealing because they are in need of food or medicine, they are stealing in order to enhance their lifestyle. Crimes of theft/embezzlement are perpetrated by unscrupulous employees who cook up schemes that are justified by their sense of situational ethics, it is important that we as business owners understand our responsibility not only to our customers but also to our industry. While prosecuting takes time, money, and effort on the owner's part, not prosecuting allows the virus to spread to other parts of our trading area and our country. It sends a signal to other employees that you are not tough on crime or will not demand justice if someone else in your business decides to do the same. Essentially if we do not prosecute, we fail to register the offender as a criminal and allow them to escape the oversite of a background check. This action or better said non-action puts other shops in danger of hiring someone who will ultimately do the same to them. Remember the golden rule; always call an applicant's references and prior workplace. EMPLOYEE THEFT: WHY WE MUST PROSECUTE RO Ralph Wolff, Industry Relations, PSA Certified Service Center www.certifiedservicecenter.org

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