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Tip Sheets
Prevent theft of your belongings
Theft is the most frequently reported crime in long-term care facilities. Because residents have so few possessions, even small thefts can be traumatic.
Residents are encouraged to take steps to safeguard their possessions.
In addition, residents should encourage their facility to use strategies to prevent theft. Use this checklist as one way to evaluate the theft prevention program at your facility. Facilities that take an active approach are more effective at preventing crime.
Contact your local ombudsman for crime victim advocacy services or for assistance in using these theft prevention strategies.
Your theft prevention checklist
Safeguard your belongings
- Use a zippered money purse to hold small amounts of cash during the day. Pin the purse to your clothing for safekeeping.
- Use commonsense safety precautions with valuables. Don't create opportunities for theft by leaving cash and jewelry out in the open.
- Review your personal inventory form that lists all of your personal possessions. Update this form as necessary.
- Check your homeowners insurance to see if coverage can be extended to your property during a nursing home stay.
Track and report missing items
- Make sure all of your personal belongings are labeled correctly.
- Report all missing items immediately. All items are of value and should be reported.
Be actively involved
- Insist that all visitors knock, announce who they are, and wait to be invited in before entering your room. Use your call bell to alert staff if an uninvited guest tries to enter your room.
- Be aware of your surroundings. If you notice something out of the ordinary, take note of it and alert others.
- Participate in your resident council meetings. Share your ideas for improved theft prevention.
- Become a member of the crime prevention team in your facility. It is important that residents be represented so that your concerns are heard and addressed.
Evaluate your facility's theft prevention strategies
Does the nursing home work to improve education and training?
- The facility should have a theft prevention policy. Staff should be knowledgeable of these policies.
- Regular training on crime prevention should be conducted. Guest speakers are invited to cover various topics such as the role of your crime prevention officer.
- Staff should be trained not to borrow from residents or accept gifts without a supervisor's knowledge.
Does the nursing home help safeguard resident belongings?
- Staff members should be informed of the items that each resident considers the most valuable. These items are checked and logged on a daily basis by either staff or residents.
- All resident items should be permanently labeled, including dentures and eyeglasses. This is a deterrent for criminals and makes it easier to identify missing items.
- A central locked depository or individual lock boxes are provided for residents. This is a requirement under state law.
- The facility's central locked storage area and cashier should be accessible and easy to use.
- A resident's larger valuables, such as televisions and VCRs, should be bolted down.
- Operation I.D. is used and signs are posted throughout the facility announcing participation in this program.
- Theft insurance has been purchased in order to reimburse residents for losses.
Does the nursing home track and report missing items?
- Everyone should be instructed to immediately fill out a report if something is missing.
- The reporting form and the reporting process is easy for everyone to use and understand.
- A staff person should be designated as responsible for reviewing all reports of missing items. Reports are reviewed frequently to identify patterns that may assist in tracking a thief.
- A facility should have a plan of when and how to make a report of theft to the police. Residents and family members are involved in the decision making process.
- The facility should have a relationship with the local police department, working with them to meet the unique needs of nursing home residents.
Does the nursing home continually work to improve security?
- Visitors are encouraged to check in with the receptionist in order to sign in and out of the facility.
- The police have evaluated the entrance and exits in the facility. Alarm systems or cameras have been installed at unsupervised doors.
- Staff should make random rounds of the entire facility, increasing the frequency of the rounds when a missing item is reported.
- Employees and volunteers should be screened with improved interviewing techniques and criminal background checks.
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