NCJ Number
74731
Date Published
1978
Length
8 pages
Annotation
Situations which can lead to employee pilferage in the manufacturing plants of small companies are reviewed, and remedies are suggested.
Abstract
Owner-managers can help prevent pilferage by refusing to place blind trust in their employees. Furthermore, a climate conducive to dishonesty can be avoided if tight control is placed over invoices, purchase orders, removals, and credits; managers themselves should set examples by recording even those materials they take out themselves. Haphazard physical security can be eliminated if a minimum number of doors is used and if each of these is guarded. A supervisor should be present when goods are being received or shipped and when trash is being removed. Fencing between loading bays, closed-circuit television which sweeps the loading platform, and a supervisor's desk with an unobstructed platform view can also provide effective means of control. Central station alarm systems and time locks which can record door openings should also be used to protect a plant after hours. A record of door openings can provide information on employees who hide, steal property, and leave a plant after closing hours. Since loss-preventive controls are no stronger than their audits, they should be checked frequently. An effective auditing method is to commit deliberate errors, such as placing more finished goods on a loading platform than an order calls for. Also, unannounced inspections can be effective. Owner-managers who suspect pilferage should involve the police or a reliable firm of professional security consultants rather than trying to solve cases themselves. Four references are included.