Conference 7.286::digital

    Go to security. That's what they are there for. If no one goes
    then no one who can do anything will know that there is a problem.
    If you find it later it's no big deal to report it found. In the
    mean time you'll have people looking around which may help prevent
    other missing items.
    
    There is also the chance that the item will be recovered. That's
    been known to happen to.
    
    		Alfred

    By all means, see Security.
    
    					=maggie

                Yes. Go to security. 
                
                The point isn't to get back what you lost (although 
        there's nothing wrong with that motive), but to possibly prevent 
        something else (probably not yours, but it could be) from 
        "walking" also. Whoever it is that took it (assuming it wasn't 
        just borrowed) does need some help, and if they aren't found, 
        could get into more serious trouble later!
                
                /s/     Bob

    Ditto -- go to security.
    
    You may have lost the item, but if it was stolen, theft inside the
    halls of DEC is no different than the same act in the "real world".
    But thinking on it, theft on the inside *is* worse because, both
    the law of the land and company policy is being violated.  This
    may sound a little absurd, but you also should be able to enjoy
    a little more comfort and trust in your work environment.
    
    Also, keep in mind, if the incident was theft, this is neither good
    for you or the company.  What if the item taken was, say a work-related
    document with restricted distribution?
    
    I do hope you find your missing item.
    

    I would suggest you report it to security as well as to your manager.
    While working at PKO3-1 a couple years ago, I had a large "History
    of Flight" poster stolen one night.  Like your situation, it wasn't
    a very costly item, but I reported it to my manager and security.
    Security said they had been getting similar complains and the contract
    crew that cleaned in the evening was replaced.  With your item being
    stolen during the day, it probably was a DEC employee or daytime
    contract person.  

    go to security, definitely.
    also, tell your management, and possibly discuss it with others
    who work in your area.  if this happens you not only want to find
    out what happened, you also want to alert others before they too
    are victims.

    And get a desk or cabinet with locks that work--although this
    admittedly won't help much for things like posters, etc.  Having
    naively assumed that simple concealment in my cube was enough, and
    getting ripped off several times in consequence (security notified,
    cases still open...), I now lock everything of value away whenever
    I leave at night.  It's a pain, and depressing to think it's necessary,
    but it has worked.
    

    If it was a usable thing e.g. pencil sharpener you could check with
    your immediate workmates. If that draws a blank or if it was not
    "usable" you should go to both your manager and security. We all
    assume that everyone is perfectly trustworthy but, if there is a
    thief about, that assumption is clearly invalid.
    Sad times these when people just help themselves to what they like.
    James

	My boss informed me today that three different people in our
    group reported lost (i.e. stolen) articles in there cubes here on
    the second floor of MR01 and that we should lock-up our valuables
    at night.
  
	That's all fine and groovy, but I don't have keys to lock anything
    with, much less anything beyond my skinny top-drawer in my desk and a
    filing cabinet to lock if and when I get them (I did request keys, so
    I should get some eventually - probably not in time for the midnight
    theif though).

	So far it's been little stuff like electronic calculators and
    watches, so I suppose a drawer lock would be enough for valuables.

							-DAV0

    I deal with this class of problem by having a very large briefcase.
    Any personal property of any significant value that I bring to work,
    I take home again.
        John Sauter

    We, too, had this problem years ago.  (It disappeared when _our_
    contract cleaning crew was changed.)
    
    However, a point worth emphasizing: if you leave something tempting
    in plain view or nearly so (e.g., easily accessable desk drawer),
    you might be helping tempt someone to acquire sticky fingers.
    
    That doesn't excuse the thief, but don't make it easy for him or
    her.
    
    Steve Kallis, Jr.
    

    A horror story from my sojourn with another company...
    
    The department "mailboxes" were just IN and OUT boxes, plainly visible
    and accessible.  People would drop off company and personal outgoing
    mail on their way home.  The mail would sit out overnight...
    
    At the time, I was comissioner of a sports league, with a large
    (>$4000) budget.  Our department secretary was treasurer.  We were
    having trouble closing out one bank account and opening another.
    Finally, we felt it necessary to mail a blank check.  (Yes, that's
    dumb -- let me tell you HOW dumb!)
    
    A department member got a letter from his insurance company, saying
    he'd missed a payment and had been dropped.  "No, I didn,t," he said,
    "I have my bank statement right here!"  The cancelled check was
    there, but had been kited (altered) and cashed by Someone Else...  
    
    Elsewhere in the building, a $50 check made out to Employee Activities for
    a ski trip was stolen, kited into $350 (I think), and cashed by
    Someone Else...
    
    And our check never arrived.  Instead, it was stolen, filled in,
    and cashed by Someone Else...
    
    Eventually, the thief was found to be a member of -- you guessed
    it -- the contract cleaning crew.  My coworker went to his bank
    and swore out an affadavit that he had not written the check, and
    thus was excused from having to honor it.  I didn't lose any money,
    but I had to go to my bank's home office and straighten out the
    mess.
    
    The company fired but chose not to prosecute the individual.  I
    believe that avoided publicity and expense, etc.  (a not uncommon
    policy).
    
    Moral:  It happens.  A company mailbox is not a USPS mailbox.  Why
    take chances?
    
    		-- Steve
    
    P.S.:  Of course, it can't happen here...

    .12 digression:
    
    Kiting is the scheme where you circulate "money" between several
    banks taking advantage of the banks allowing you to use money from
    the accounts before it has been collected from the other bank(s).
    I say "money" in quotes because you eventually pull the real money
    out PLUS the amount that each bank thinks will show up as it always
    has in the past.
    
    - M
       

    All companies have unscrupulous employees, including the U.S. Postal
    Service, and, I imagine, USPS/etc.
    
    I have never had, nor heard of, any problems with USPS employee
    theft.  Maybe they have excellent security systems.  However, I
    have lost a check (not blank, but signed by someone else) and a
    package through the postal service.  The check was a loss: I never
    got compensation, and the thief was never caught.  The package was
    registered and insured; the thief was caught but the goods were
    never returned (I received payment).  In both cases, the post office
    acknowledged that it was one of their employees, and these incidents
    were several years apart.
    
    But through these incidents I learned never to trust anyone, if
    the mail is really important or valuable.

    In the past, plundering of USPS mailboxes was relatively rare because
    it was a federal (not state) offense, and nobody wanted to mess with
    the feds.  I gather the federal penalty for messing with mailboxes is
    pretty severe, too. 
     
    							Ralph

    re .12.  Don't say it can't happen at DEC.  Years ago, I trusted
    everyone that worked at DEC, kept all of my checkbook stuff in my
    unlocked desk.  All of a sudden checks started bouncing left and
    right.  Someone had taken three checks from my checkbook, written
    them for relatively large sums, leaving all of my valid checks to
    bounce.
    
    The bank did make good (the "forger" didn't have a signature that
    was even close to mine), but what a hassle for a while.

    Re: [172.15]
    
    It's not clear that internal mailboxes are so protected.  (At least,
    it wasn't in our case.)  Theft may be ill-advised, but may not be
    illegal.
    
    Re: [172.16]
    
    I was kidding.  Watch yourself everywhere.
    
    As I mentioned, we lost no money when our check was stolen; the
    forger cashed it for more than we had, and the check bounced.  But
    the hassle was memorable.  My treasurer called the bank and had
    roughly this conversation:
    
    	"We just got a notice that one of our checks bounced.  We think
    it was stolen."
    
    	"How much was the check for?"
    
    	"We don't know -- it was stolen."
    
    	"Who was the check made out to?"
    
    	"We don't know -- it was STOLEN."
    
    	"Well, who wrote it?"
    
    	"We don't KNOW!"
    
    	"Well, we can't help you unless you provide us with that information."
    
    	"What are you -- STUPID?"  S L A M . . .
    

    Re .17: 
    Actually, it's clear that internal mailboxes are not so protected.  
    
    However, theft, even attempted theft, is still illegal, wherever it
    happens, isn't it?  Of course, there are business reasons for keeping
    this sort of thing quiet, and I gather that it would probably be
    inadvisable for an employee (even the victim) to involve the company in
    anything messy. 
    
    Question (born of idle curiosity):
    
    When a theft like that occurs within the company, is it legal for DEC
    to simply slap the hand of the thief, or are they technically bound to
    report it to the civil authorities?  Where it is DEC property involved,
    the company can simply choose not to press charges and deal with it by
    firing the thief, right?  But what if it is an employee's personal
    property?  Does it make a difference if the property is recovered?

    							Ralph

Re .18:

Nothing should prevent the victim from reporting it to the authorities.
Or do you mean that security might not reveal the name of the thief, or
even the fact that they were caught, to the victim? 
				/AHM/THX

    Re: [172.18]  My previous employer usually did not prosecute, only
    fired.  Saves on legal fees, I guess.
    

re .-1

No legal fees for prosecuting for theft -- that's the government's job in
criminal cases.  Of course, if the criminal case gets lost, the acquitted
employee could bring a civil suit against the employer.

/john