Would you report your housecleaner to the police?

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irvinenester

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So after a bit of detective work, we recently found out that either the housecleaner or the housecleaner's spouse stole some gift cards from us.

(They used the giftcards to buy something online and the retailer released the name of the purchaser to us -- the name of the housecleaner's spouse).

We just let the housecleaner go without discussing with her the reason...I was prepared to discuss it, but she never asked why we were letting her go.  From her response, she didn't seem surprised at all that I was terminating her (which made me then suspect that she either took the cards herself or knew that her spouse had taken them).  I didn't ask for the money back, and had no plans to file a police report.  I was incredibly stupid to leave the gift cards out in the open like that. Better just to learn from my mistake and let it all go, I thought, terminate her and move on with my life.

However, I've been discussing this with others and people seemed outraged that I didn't confront her about it, demand the value of my gift cards back, or file a police report.  That I'm essentially letting her get away with it and empowering her to do this again to other people.  That I have a duty to society to prevent thieves from preying on others.

What do you all think?  Should I have confronted her?  Do I have a moral obligation to society to file a police report so that she/her spouse could be prosecuted?





 
irvinenester said:
So after a bit of detective work, we recently found out that either the housecleaner or the housecleaner's spouse stole some gift cards from us.

(They used the giftcards to buy something online and the retailer released the name of the purchaser to us -- the name of the housecleaner's spouse).

We just let the housecleaner go without discussing with her the reason...I was prepared to discuss it, but she never asked why we were letting her go.  From her response, she didn't seem surprised at all that I was terminating her (which made me then suspect that she either took the cards herself or knew that her spouse had taken them).  I didn't ask for the money back, and had no plans to file a police report.  I was incredibly stupid to leave the gift cards out in the open like that. Better just to learn from my mistake and let it all go, I thought, terminate her and move on with my life.

However, I've been discussing this with others and people seemed outraged that I didn't confront her about it, demand the value of my gift cards back, or file a police report.  That I'm essentially letting her get away with it and empowering her to do this again to other people.  That I have a duty to society to prevent thieves from preying on others.

What do you all think?  Should I have confronted her?  Do I have a moral obligation to society to file a police report so that she/her spouse could be prosecuted?
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I believe you made the right decision in letting her go. You are not "stupid" for leaving your gift cards out. You should be able to trust your house cleaner.

 
It depends on how long she has worked for you and the amount taken. If she has worked for you for a decade without incident and took a $10 Del Taco gift card I would look at it a little differently than if she has worked for you six months and snatched a $300 Burke Williams gift card. Does it look like greed or needy desperation?

If it is anything other than survival (i.e. Babies R Us gift card / diapers or formula for her baby), here is what I would do: Call her or have her meet you. Tell her you have evidence that she "borrowed" funds from you without your permission. Suggest that she make restitution to the tune of double the amount taken and never do this again. Tell her that this is what cost her the job with you. If this lady is in the U.S. illegally, she will not want you to call the police. However, if she won't make restitution or won't even come clean about what she's done, tell her she has left you with no other choice than to bring this matter to the police. I think that's fair enough for now.
 
TD, good point. I was just thinking the mere threat of calling the police should be enough to light a flame under her butt. My gut says she will absolutely not call Irvinenester's bluff. Whether or not to really turn the matter over to the police - I guess it would depend on what exactly the penalties are for a "first time offender" contracting with an illegal alien. I seriously don't know, would have to weigh the options. Oh, no worries about getting into my beeswax... I do not contract with illegals. I have in the past but no current or future plans to.
 
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