You know one thought keeps coming to my mind about informing the Board first. What if the thief were a Board member? You never know.

I like the David Harvey recommendation of making sure it really was stolen first and not just misplaced, not checked out. Once that's done, I would incorporate the police in any activity on this because how do you stop-gap your losses (insurance) and/or recover the merchandise if you do.

Some folks want to make nicey-nice and not bring the police in, but I think you haven't taken steps to mitigate your losses if you don't.

 
Looking for a Job in the Arts? 
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MuseJobs


Tweetcha Later!
https://twitter.com/Indigo_Nights

    








________________________________
From: Cheryl Branyan <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: Tue, February 2, 2010 12:39:50 PM
Subject: Re: [MUSEUM-L] Theft


Jenny,
I went through a similar situation a few years ago as director of a state historic site and we all "knew" who did it.  You should report it to your immediate supervisor for approval before your next step.  If you don't have a policy in place, I'd suggest next informing the board chairman and then the sheriff's department, but you need to act quickly. The investigator will come out for an interview and will look at all of your records and evidence.   In my case, most of the stolen items were recovered and our thief, a new security guard, was arrested.  It did make the papers, but the publicity was not bad, contrary to what one might expect, it stimulated more interest and was not a negative reflection on the site.




________________________________
 From: Jenny Olmsted <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: Tue, February 2, 2010 12:26:48 PM
Subject: [MUSEUM-L] Theft

 Hello all,

I recently discovered some items missing from our archives vault.  On the plus side, I recently inventoried these items, so I have a definite time span in which they went missing, plus detailed photos to aid in identification when/if they are recovered.   Based on alarm code entries to the building and key availability, we also have some suspicions as to who may be responsible.  However, I am not sure what our next step should be.  Report it to the police?  Report it to the Board of Directors and let them handle it?  Seek legal counsel before reporting it to the police?  I've even had it strongly suggested that we should not report it at all, but that doesn't seem right to me or the other staff member I've discussed it with.  

I want to make sure that I take the correct steps here, and would be grateful both for references/resources you can guide me to, and real-life examples of dealing with theft.  

Thanks in advance for any and all advice!
Jenny




________________________________
 Hotmail: Trusted email with powerful SPAM protection. Sign up now. ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: 
The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). 
If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes). 
=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information: 
The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). 
If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).

=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:

The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).

If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).