Don’t let your help clean out your home

Have you been noticing things missing from your home? Do you think your domestic help is stealing from you?

Today, a domestic help forms an integral part of our lives. But, with the Mumbai police registering 581 cases of theft in 2010, it is essential to take measures to safeguard your home.

On February 11, a 28-year-old house help was arrested for stealing electronic gadgets worth Rs1.5 lakh from actor Juhi Chawla’s house in Malabar Hill.

In January, Priyanka Bansode, 19, was arrested for stealing valuables worth Rs10.2 lakh from her employer Heena Shah’s house.

In both cases the domestic help were not registered and the police had considerable difficulty in nabbing the accused.

According to the police, the help need to be registered with the Mumbai, Navi Mumbai Domestic Help Association or the local police stations.

“Instances of theft committed by unregistered domestic help have gone up in the city,” said a police officer on condition of anonymity. “And, it is very tough to identify the accused without any proof of identity.”

According to crime statistics released by the police, out of the 558 cases registered in 2009, 197 cases are still to be detected. The number stands at 233 cases in 2010.

The police attribute the decrease in detection rate to the fact that most help do not have a previous criminal record. “We come across many cases where the help has been employed for over six months and still the employer does not have his/her details,” said Jaywant Hargude, assistant commissioner of police (crime branch).

According to the police, taking up jobs as domestic help to gain entry into homes and cleaning them out is one of the modus operandi adopted by thieves.

Himanshu Roy, joint commissioner of police, crime branch, said: “We have asked people to hire domestic help registered with the association. If one can’t find one, approach the police station and register your domestic help.”