Cleaner stole - Advice pls !!

[Petesbowtie9]

Long story short I discovered my cleaner of approx four years had been stealing from me ( some cash, some minor items and my late mothers jewellery) . I involved the police and she was taken to station where she confessed. The police have said she will be sentenced in around 6-9 months time.

The thing I have a huge issue with is she is still cleaning for other people and obviously still has the opportunity to steal from them. I don’t know who her clients are.

is there any way ( legally) that I can either warn people via social media or find out who her clients are and warn them?

Any advice much appreciated !

How do you know she is still cleaning?

Tricky one. You could post without mentioning names on a local group I suppose and let people know your experience. You can’t go around trying to find out who she works for though.

I don't know about warning others, but out of sheer nosiness how did you find out it was her and prove it??

No you cannot interfere with a police investigation. Let the police know she is still working and let them deal with it.

It’s really not your problem. Police or the court will deliberate on any continued risk to the public. You just need to concentrate on your theft, if she’s stealing from those other people, presumably they’ll notice and report similarly.

Don’t go and start a social media smear campaign, people end their lives over things like that. And no, you can’t legally find out who her clients are, her client information should be handled in accordance with GDPR.

I know it feels horrid to be stolen from, but you need to work towards accepting that she has been caught for what she did to you, and she should be dealt with appropriately by the law, whatever she did or didn’t do elsewhere is none of your business.

Thanks all. I don’t know for certain she is still cleaning but I have no reason to think she isn’t ..

Thanks for comments re GDPR and social media etc, it’s very hard not to expose her but I do appreciate what you are all saying

i had suspected for a while, then a particular ring went missing. On a hunch I went to the local pawn shop and spoke to the guy, he asked if it was a woman with blonde hair etc , brought out several other items of mine which I didn’t know were missing at this point . I then showed him a photo of her and he confirmed

@Petesbowtie9 I am impressed with your detective skills! You are like Columbo!

You said she is still cleaning for other people but you have no evidence to support this claim, leave it to the police.

@confused162 Haha ! Sheer luck the pawnbrokers still had the rings I think

@HappyHamsters thanks for the input - but why would you assume she isn’t still cleaning ?

Why do you assume she is?

Sorry- another nosy question/ did you have to pay to get your jewellery back from the pawn brokers? Just wondering!

Definitely don't put anything online or in texts as you will leave yourself open to getting in bother but if it was me, I would be letting people know through word of mouth as they are vulnerable to having their things taken too, if they haven't already

Because that’s her job @HappyHamsters ?

@AlwaysFoldingWashing No the police took them and handed them back once she had confessed so it’s the pawn broker who is out of pocket - he did say he would try to reclaim the money from the cleaner

@UnfairAdvantage - why should the OP be so nice? Even our local police force name and shame people on social media!

You should not. You could be seen as interfering with justice. You could be charged.
You can post once she is sentenced as that is a matter of public record.

I’d be very wary of saying anything.

@antelopevalley Thats what I was thinking

@LindseyHoyleSpeaks Thank you , am thinking best to wait until after sentencing , just seems a shame she can potentially steal from others

If she is charged and sentenced wont it be in the local paper, what's the benefit of posting about it on sm. She may be told she is not to enter other peoples houses anyway.

@Petesbowtie9 given that you seem to be quite the detective (am impressed!) you could try following her to see which houses she visits and then pop a note through their door after she leaves? Bonus points if you do this in disguise.

Great idea, get arrested for stalking and harrassment at the same time.

It will almost definitely make the local news , but sentencing won’t be for 6-9 months

This is genuinely what I wanted to do ! But was worried about implications ..

You've got justice back off now. You could end up in court yourself for libel, is it worth it? Let it go.