Theft dilemma

concerned43

My son's friends often come round and have been doing so for years but over the past 3 months items in the house have gone missing e.g.
xbox games, ipod touch, xbox controller and now I find my very expensive olympus camera is gone plus the SD card of my other camera (which has pics on it I will never be able to replace). I have searched the house upside down and even searched the bins outside - nothing-its gone!
I know his friends have a habit of stealing pencils, erasers etc from school but never thought they would steal from me (his friends are the only ones that come to the house)!
I caught one of them a couple of weeks ago going though the kitchen cupboards and drawers and when challenged he said he was looking for some pop!
Thing is I have no proof to who took these items and cannot claim on my insurance unless I get police incident number! and I do not want to do that as I do not want to ruin the boys lives.
Should I raise it with their parents? how would you approach it?

paulineb_2

Im amazed that you havent reported this sooner or challenged your son as to what his friends might be doing.

My Ipod touch cost me £200, if someone came into my house and took it, Id go absolutely ballistic.

You dont want to ruin these boys lives. Then get a message to your son to tell his mates to have the stuff either returned or replaced by a certain date or you are going to the police.

And I also hate to say this, things dont just go missing from under peoples noses, what I mean is, there were probably other people in the house at the time who saw whoever it was take the items.

I also hate to say that your son might be involved to some degree.
I wouldnt think twice about going to the police. If you let them away with this, who are they going to steal off next, what message does it give out?

PinkLipgloss

Ooooh tricky one......

TBH I'd be tempted to do some "damage limitation" myself by installing a secret camera.

That way you will have video evidence to confront the parents/thief with.

concerned43

My son and I have already spoke with his friends who deny all knowledge. I have banned them from my house and gave them a big lecture about the police and having a charge on their record would ruin their lives but so far nothing has turned up.
I 100% believe my son is not involved and they have had the run of the house so he could not keep an eye on all of them all of the time.

concerned43

PinkLipgloss wrote: »

Ooooh tricky one......

TBH I'd be tempted to do some "damage limitation" myself by installing a secret camera.

That way you will have video evidence to confront the parents/thief with.

don't feel comfortable with that - could be accused of all sorts of things!

mrcow

So have you spoken to their parents yet?

PinkLipgloss

I don't see a problem with it - presuming it is not installed in the bathroom or any outdoor public areas.

It's your home after all and it is being abused by someone blatantly stealing from you!

If you involve the police they may well "have a word" but they have no evidence to act upon.

Another option - could you perhaps leave an expensive device "lying around" and have it hooked up to "Catch a thief" GPS or similar?

concerned43

mrcow wrote: »

So have you spoken to their parents yet?

No, reluctant as I don't want to come across as accusing their offspring - esp if they are innocent

concerned43

I would be afraid to let them back in the house again in case they stole something really valuable! Which is a shame really as my son enjoys having them around.

paulineb_2

You found someone going through your kitchen drawers and cupboards? You dont need proof to go to the police to report a theft. If you dont you wont be able to claim on your insurance. You might not be able to get them charged, but at least you'll be able to claim.

And if it wasnt these boys, do you have an idea of who else might be coming into your home and taking your stuff.

Id also be letting your son know that they arent friends if they can steal stuff from your home.

Also, get your stuff marked with pens that can be seen if an ultra violet light is shone on them and make sure you have the serial numbers of them incase someone tries to sell them on.

You should have done something after the first item went missing and then you might only have been dealing with the loss of one item, as Im assuming they didnt just go missing on the same day.

Its been happening for 3 months, 3 months in which people have been coming round to your house to steal? Im really sorry youve had to go through this, but protecting these kids isnt the way to deal with this.

Scorpio33

If you are worried about replacing the missing items, report the incident(s) to the police, get a crime reference number and claim on insurance. It won't replace your pictures, but it is the best you can hope for.

If you are wanting to stop it happening again, then strict words with the whole family, as well as intalling cameras at vunearable poisitions should do the trick.

Your son and his mates are denying all knowledge, so act like that is the truth. Liaise with police and improve your set up to stop it happening again. Make sure everyone in the family know the seriousness of the issues.