cubicle theft/pilfering at work (night janitor)...opinions requested.

So I'd noticed things were missing from my desk and desk drawers shortly after building management switched janitorial contracts from the previous company to the new one...so I set up a webcam and caught the prick.

I haven't done anything with the footage yet but I'm still recording on a nightly basis, each night catching some nerfarious behaviour (one stealing Crystal Light and a water out of my fridge, one covering the camera with a trash bag, one sticking his *** in the camera, and one digging in my fridge then realizing I'd added a second camera ).

My question is this...I'm perplexed on what to do with the footage. The guy looks like a scumbag and I don't know how vindictive he is. This coupled with the fact that I had (since been taken down) plaques/awards/certificates with my full name on them...even a picture of my wife and I...up on the walls, so he could possibly know who I am (tho he seems rather dumb). Anyhow, I don't want to go to management without, first, the guarantee this guy woudl be fired, because I don't want him to get a slap on the wrist then have free reign of my cubicle every night...not to mention I'm the only one here in the mornings for about 2hr. Also, I'm not even sure that I can 'legally' record the inside of my cubicle. So...I'm at a crossroads here and would like some input.

I was going to put a lock on the fridge but that may arouse suspicion or cause him to 'seek revenge'. Plus, when you're trying to catch a criminal, you never change the environment they operate in so that they become comfortable...but this idiot already knows there are cameras.

Sorry for the long post...what do you think?

 

If you have video of him stealing, call the police.

 

I don't want to make it a legal matter...I just want the guy out of here. I think, ultimately, this is an issue for building management but again, I don't know this guy and how much he knows about me...other than the fact he knows there are cameras in plain sight and this doesn't seem to be a deterrent.

I don't want to sound like a *****, but this is the kind of job ex-cons get and who knows this guy's history.

 

Take it to management. It doesn't matter if you can record that or not. He's stealing from you and I highly doubt that your Company, let alone the one this Jerk works for, wants him in the building.

 

Yah, I think I'm going to go to local management here tomorrow with what I have. If they don't want to press the issue with building management, I'll do it myself. I'll update here when I have anything.

In the meantime, if anyone else has a similar experience or any comments I'd like to read them.

When this is all over I'll make the videos available for download and you can check them out.

 

Yah, I previously caught a cleaning lady in Ashburn the same way. At first she was stealing gum, but then I left a bowl of M&Ms to see if she'd take any. After handling all that trash, she dug her bare hand into the bowl and got a handful...repulsive. I left that one a note and a pack of gum with a ribbon on it and a not that said "This gum is for you, please don't take any more of mine" in Spanish.

This recent dirtbag is a white guy and he looks like a heroin addict.

 

If you have a security office or someone like a Facility Security Officer (FSO) you are obligated to report it to them immediately. Let us know what happens.:cop:

 

Consider this: if he's stealing from you he's also probably stealing from your coworkers. You should be safe from payback if it's handled right.

 

I turned the guy in yesterday, got all the videos forwarded to building management (who assured me my name wouldn't come up nor woudl the videos be shown to the cleaning company), and had a new crew in here last nite who didn't do anything nefarious...even had a separate lady come in and vaccuum.

Now to see if there's any retaliation/backlash. I did a sweep of the office when I came in this AM and there were no lurkers or anything...to be on the safe side, I brought a USMC KA-BAR fighting knife just in case.

 

We had the same thing happening on a certain floor...my friend hooked up a camera, caught some contractors and a janitor stealing stuff, and my friend got yelled at because he installed unapproved software on his pc....go figure...lol...

the thiefs were let go as well though, lol..

 

A friend of mine left her office late one day got to her car and realized she forgot something. She went back and I guess the cleaning person in her office heard her coming. When she went around behind her desk the guy was hiding under it while talking on her phone. It turned out that he was calling family in South America every night from her office. The same crew raided the fridge regularly and took people's leftovers. I don't remember if the whole crew was fired or just the phone guy.

 

I think this kind of thing is pretty common. A couple years ago we had a similair issue in my office. Things started missing, perfume,hand lotions other personnel items you would keep on your desk. Then a digital camera came up missing. Turned out to be a cleaning person. Now only certain people have access to our floor at night and they are on some kind of monitoring system. We've never had a problem since.

 

It's a good idea to lock anything thats valuable in your desk.

-Teak

 

That's a rather short sighted response from a 'tech' person. I noticed multiple bottles of water were missing out of my fridge, so I set up a camera to see if anyone was taking them and sure enough, they were. Nothing paranoid or abnormal about that. The paranoia comes from the discovery that it wasn't a harmless looking imigrant but a rather scuzzy looking punk kid.

I guarantee the majority of workplaces already have cameras in them to monitor employees, so would your logic apply to them? Meaning, if they feel they have to have cameras, perhaps they're hiring the wrong people.

I just used the means available to me since my small remote office doesn't have any sort of surveilance coupled with the fact that I'm the only person on my side of the office and the only one in the entire office for 2h in the morning. As you can see from the other posts, this kind of thing happens everywhere...they just don't get caught. I don't think I'm being overly paranoid...just protective of what's mine.

 

Brim, setup Rubrik style traps! Check this out:

http://www.urbachletter.com/Archive/CTOM_0506_CubicleDefender.htm

Loads of fun for all!

 

heh...excellent.

If only it had an ED-209 mode where it requested made a lot of noise and requested compliance before it started dispensing justice.

'Please get out of my cubicle. You have 20 seconds to comply. '

 

A paranoid fella, aren't we?