Suggestions for a hidden camera to help catch potentially stealing employee

I see why you’d want to do this but on a personal level I’m not a fan. I’d install cameras but not hidden ones. If you believe it’s a single employee, why not talk to them first? Or worst case, just fire them?

does your employee handbook talk about using video to monitor employees? may want to check with your HR/Legal and make sure it is ok. Some states have crazy laws where you can record video but not audio, etc... along with some areas of the business they would have a reasonable expectation of privacy.

until the guy wants unemployment and he says no he doesnt get it I got video of him stealing.

1. I think y'all are overestimating the size of my business lol. He is literally my only enployeee and he's a glorified janitor who does some relatively intensive maintenance

2. The cameras I've seen do not record audio as in most states that is illegal

3. IF I catch him in the act I do not plan on telling him how I know. We live in a small town and he's taking the money I suspect he is stealing straight to the local bank and ppl have told me they have seen him doing it (he's apparently not very bright) so I have plenty of ways to explain me finding out outside of a camera

4. I'll just say it, it's a self serve car wash so he's taking large sums of quarters up to the bank and depositing them in his own account on a somewhat regular basis and we are talking up above $300 in quarters each time. He has other business ventures such as being a licensed plumber for the water department but no other explanation that I or anyone else I can trust to ask about it know of for him acquiring this volume of quarters on a regular basis. I'm trying not to jump to conclusions and as I said it would make him an INCREDIBLY stupid thief to take them to the very bank he has seen me at and knows I do business at but I simply can't come up with much other explanation. Though bc of what I mentioned earlier I'd like to know for sure before I get rid of him bc he will be difficult to replace.

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.. People talking about legal stuff don't recognize you just want to know for sure so you can fire him. I don't think you are looking to take him to court over it all, although maybe you might.. but most importantly is you don't want to employ someone who is stealing.. so definitely go for it.

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Exactly

And believe it or not, car wash maintenance can be pretty unique. You can find ppl who are capable of it but they generally are making much more money doing something else and don't have the time/desire to do it on the side like my current guy does

I'm capable of it but I'm busy enough handling another car wash I own, a farming operation, and some rental properties

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he's pretty good at his job overall and there aren't many ppl in my area that possess his skill sets so he will be pretty hard if not impossible to replace.

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Then don't fire him and just accept that if he's stealing that he'll get away with it.

Seems like it'd just be easier to revoke his access to the cash first, then monitor things for a while. But I don't know, it's not my business.


As for the question, perhaps just a small game camera from a sporting goods store will do the trick. Motion detection, stores on a memory stick, battry powered, etc.

Could he simply be keeping all the change that's sucked up into the vaccuum cleaners?

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Be very careful where you put this camera.

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like dont put it in the toilet?

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the previous owner who was as big of an absent T owner

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I laughed way too hard at something in this sentence.
In high school a few of my friends worked at a car wash and would clean the outside and inside of cars. They would keep coins found in seats, under seats, in the vacuum filter somehow, etc. Could the employee be doing this and saving up the coins? Just throwing it out there.
I agree with what others have said and install a camera that isn’t hidden. Hopefully, that will be enough to make a difference. Good luck!