Quote:
Now as far as POS cams... have you thought of covert cameras? If the cams are obvious and the staff know the till is being watched, they may stop any skimming (ideally, although then you won't know who's been doing it), or they may simply find more creative ways to hide it. Covert cams in this case will be more effective at catching them in the act. I've done it using mini board cameras hidden in objects like smoke detectors... I've done it with a box cam and a long lens (for a tight shot on the cash drawer), hiding inside a "broken" corner of a ceiling tile, as well as behind a vent grate.
I can agree and disagree. There are different schools of thought - no right and no wrong, just depends on what works for the environment and the business.
Just a little background on myself - I've been performing some loss prevention services for some of my clients who own small restaurants and the employees have taught me quite alot over the years. They can be very creative. I started doing this in 2007 and I've personally caught roughly 70 people from 30 locations stealing money, stealing bulk product (food, cleaning supplies, etc.), giving things away & doing things like opening late, closing early, clocking in or out for others plus other actions that cost the employer money.
Something I've learned over the years when it comes to surveillance, even if the employees know the place is under video surveillance, sometimes it just doesn't matter. Either they don't care, forget they're being recorded, or think nobody is watching at that moment (which is usually the case) and that nobody is going to go back and review video (wrong on their part - done regularly and is how they get caught).
I do believe cctv acts as a deterrent - for the mostly honest employees who might think twice about giving in to temptation, but the theives are going to be theives and try to figure a way to get away with it. Soundy, like you said "they may simply find more creative ways to hide it" and they do. But, somewhere along the line they slip and get caught. And, my feeling with covert surveillance: once the first person is caught everyone is going to know the cameras are there. It's hard to keep something like that a secret from the people who work there everyday.
I have a couple of clients who say "make it easy to steal so it's easy to find" and others who say "make it difficult so they'll think twice" and believe if they make it hard to steal the theives will quit and find jobs elsewhere (which has happened many times after I've installed cctv systems).
I find the best deterrent is to let the employees know you're watching by calling and providing some positive comments on the job they're doing. I like to put a positive spin on things for morale and to let employees know 1 - that the cctv system is being utilized, and 2 - that's it not just for "bad" purposes.
So, different schools of thought. In my opinion it is up to the owne to ultimately decide was is right for the environment after options have been presented and discussed.
