Employee theft - conclusion

Okay, here's where we get down to the nitty-gritty and what I assume you all really want to know about employee theft. Which is, what does the eye in the sky have to do with all this?What are the techniques that's surveillance uses to detect and deter employee theft in the casino?

Well obviously they have cameras. Duh. In the last 10 to 15 years however, new software has emerged that allows those cameras to be synced up with the point-of-sale terminals at all of the cashier stations in the casino. The software has gotten less expensive over time, as software tends to do. The result is a pretty sophisticated way of looking at what each cashier does on their shift.

For example, most of these software solutions allow you to go and pull up each individual transaction, along with the video on it. And they can be sorted by difference payment methods. You can view all of the transactions that only involve cash, or you can do every time the cashier it no sale to open their drawer. This allows for the surveillance department to do a pretty efficient job of auditing all of the transactions that occure on their shift. They especially like to look at cash transactions and no sales, which is where the cashier opens the register drawer without any transaction. It's usually done to make change for a customer, but it's also the easiest time for a cashier to get money out of the till that they have ring up.

Of course surveillance usually has to have a reason to review a cashier, a trigger for lack of a better term. Usually that trigger is when a cashier is short on a particular shift. At that point surveillance will go back and review all of the transactions on their shift looking for cash handling errors possible short change scenarios and that type of thing.

The other situation occurs when a trained surveillance Observer, who knows what to look for, see something that a cashier does that JDLR (just doesn't look right). It's usually just common sense. When a cashier does something Shady, like stick their hand in their pocket after a cash transaction, it stands out like a sore thumb.

So what are some of the things that I've caught cashier's doing? Well with bartenders, you have to be aware of what product they're selling, and then compare it to the amount of cash that goes in the till verses whatl they collect from the customer. They might aerve up two beers but if they see the customer is paying cash they will only ring up one. Or just hit no sale.

There's also over pouring and under pouring. If the bartender is dispensing from a bottle, called free pouring, as opposed to a gun which dispenses a shot with each press of the button, they can use that to their advantage also. For example giving customer a double but only charging for a single shot. Or giving a customer a double in anticipation of a good tip but only charging for a single shot.

So what are some countermeasures that management and ownership can take? Well you need to have good policies and procedures for one. Cashier should be given a written list of things they're not allowed to do on shift on or go to their pockets after a cash transaction. They also should not be allowed to do a pre end of the shift countdown of their Bank especially in a private area. The cash and cash drawer should I always be under the view of a camera, either at the cashier station or in the cashier cage where they get their Banks from and turn them into. For bartenders, free pouring should only be done with a jigger.

Another effective technique is to do a mid-shift audit upon occasion. If you go into a cashier's drawer and audit it 3 hours into their 8-hour shift and find that he has $50 more in cash then his register says he should, he has been ripping off the company and is storing that cash in the register until he can find the right time to transfer it to his pocket.

I know some companies that employ what are called loss prevention agents. If they suspect a cashier of stealing, or even have proof in one form or another, they will bring in this outside agent, usually a private investigator, to interview the cashier. That experienced surveillance manager or security manager. During the interview p the last Recovery Agent will try and get the employee to admit to what they've been doing.

They do this with a carrot and stick approach, where they promise to not pursue the matter Criminal, by which they mean they won't get the police or the district attorney involved, but instead handle things through a civil court. If the employee confesses, and agrees to reimburse the player in a timely manner then they won't do any jail time. They still lose their job, but if the employee knows they're not going to go to jail there's a lot more likely to be honest about how often and how long they've been stealing for.

So in conclusion, let's just say that when it comes to employee theft the house almost always wins. The only way a cashier or bartender can get away with something like this long-term, is if ownership and management are either too lazy or too stupid to care. I've seen that happen to.

That's all for this week, see you on my next post and good luck everybody.

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