We may have one and we think we know who it is. Anyone got any neat ways to confront or catch him without looking a complete cnut if you're wrong? -- The Judge. ZZR1200 (Fast for a bike. Slow for a teleporter) K1200RS (New, rotting, useless sack of shit. For sale) Gone: VL1500LC, ZZR1100, GS1000G, GSX250 Orh+ BOTAFOT#61
Kinda depends on what he's stealing. Paperclips, cash, laptops? Personally Im a fan of the pinned against a filing cabinet and threatened method.
"Smart Water"/"Microdots" or fluorescine dye powder on some 'bait'. Kinda difficult to remove if you don't know it's there on your skin. JB
Definitely don't confront until you have absolutely conclusive proof. Have a team briefing, explain the situation has been noted and that any continuation will be dealt with under the disciplinery procedure and may involve the police accordingly If it stops - great, if it doesn't, or the value of the stuff already gone is sufficient, or you need to pursue it out of principle, you can follow up with CCTV etc - but you'll have to warn all staff that cameras will be operating and recording yada yada. Somebody could have a 'car park' chat with said person, but if they take offence, it's the first step to grievance procedure. Any idea why they're nicking stuff - this might be a route to resolution. Chances are whatever you do you'll look like a ****. -- Dnc B1200 - +30bhp ~|~ ZZR1100 - faster when upright V2300 - flat cap and rug ~|~ VS800 - borked MIB#26 two#54(soiled) UKRMMA#26 BOTAFOT#153 X-FOT#003
You can get powders and sprays that you apply to something tempting which you leave out as bait. Anyone who touches the item is then stained either visibly or invisibly (revealed under UV light). Whether this is really legal or not, I have no idea. Potentially highly amusing if your thief nicks the iPod or whatever and then repeatedly rubs his nose.
From what I know, it's legal. I had a duty manager stealing money and stock not long ago, we went down the road of getting the police involved to set a trap with this stuff, but managed to nail him sneaking stuff out in the home delivery van before we got that far.
In uk.rec.motorcycles, Judge amazed us all with this pearl of wisdom: When I was at school in assembly one day, the HT (head teacher) dragged some bloke (kid) out and said this was the one that was thieving out of the teachers' desks. They caught him by some sort of dye on the hands[1] that they'd (assumedly) scattered over the money in question. If you (or I) knew what it was, I suppose you could use that. [1] A couple of days previously the teachers in our classes were asking to see our hands and I never knew why until then.
You can get UV marking kits from Staples like I did, recently. Comes with a pen full of UV goodness (not so good for the purposes of marking a potential tea leaf), but more importantly, a nice little UV LED key ring, meaning you can be quite discrete in terms of actually having a light to hand, to check stuff with as and when needs be. Cost about £11, IIRC. -- JackH Pan European BOTAFOT #110 D.Bot (University Of Speed) - BOTAFOF #29 - GHPOTHUF #29
Nah. Get him to confess his crimes, then show the humanity underpinning your world-view by allowing him to reform through re-education.
I think banishment then some form of retrospective rehabilitation that doesn't go quite far enough to actually do anything useful is certainly a progressive stance. As a methodology it has a fine pedigree, just don't go and put peoples noses out of joint by attempting to reform, badly, the office empires of the middle ranking time servers.
UV tracer powder most likely - problem is you have to set a direct trap and ensure that not every **** in the office ends up with it on themselves (thus making you undoubtedly accuse the wrong person). -- Dnc B1200 - +30bhp ~|~ ZZR1100 - faster when upright V2300 - flat cap and rug ~|~ VS800 - borked MIB#26 two#54(soiled) UKRMMA#26 BOTAFOT#153 X-FOT#003
We used this in a company I once worked for that had a sneak-thief. She fessed up immediately, police were called in, prosecution, etc.
In uk.rec.motorcycles, Doesnotcompute amazed us all with this pearl of wisdom: I heard through the grapevine afterwards that it was some sort of sticky powder, it was only then the "can I see your hands" thing made sense. I don't think they knew who it was but they must've known (obviously) they'd go for the trap because it was some money taken from the head of house's desk.
Ginge scratched... G> Webcam running motion detection software? We did that a few years ago, it transpires there may well be more people than you think having a crafty one round the desks when they think nobody is looking.
Using the patented Mavis Beacon "Hunt&Peck" Technique, simonk Mrs WUN's shop had a persistent (junkie) shoplifter. They knew she was at it, but had difficulty in catching her. She was quite adept at removing security tags. Then they got some new dye tags. PJS wanders into a fitting room, removes tag (puncturing it and releasing the dye). She obviously panicked a bit and stuffed the jacket into a bag before exiting the shop hurriedly. In her relief she wiped her forehead... It was apparently quite funny when she denied it all to the security guys who caught her. -- Wicked Uncle Nigel - Manufacturer of the "Champion-105" range of rearsets and Ducati Race Engineer. WS* GHPOTHUF#24 APOSTLE#14 DLC#1 COFF#20 BOTAFOT#150 HYPO#0(KoTL) IbW#41 SBS#39(P) Enfield 500 Curry House Racer "The Basmati Rice Burner", Honda GL1000K2 (On its hols) Kawasaki ZN1300 Voyager "Oh, Oh, It's so big" Suzuki TS250 "The Africa Single" Yamaha GTS1000
