Employee theft on the rise

Fruitland Park, Fla. – According to the 13th annual Retail Theft Survey, conducted by locally based Jack L. Hayes International, the number of dishonest employees apprehended – and the dollars recovered from those apprehensions – increased over the previous year. Survey participants apprehended 73,326 dishonest employees in 2000, a 10.1% increase over 1999.

In addition, the survey found 30 U.S. retail companies responding to the survey lost more than $4 billion to shoplifting and employee theft in 2000. The survey reports that on an individual basis, dishonest employees steal about 6.7 times the amount stolen by shoplifters – $765.41 compared to $114.07.