Offering is Stolen from Church Office

How could this New Hampshire story have any meaning to you in safety?

On Sunday December 29, 2002 at St. John Neumann Catholic Church in Merrimack New Hampshire, Pastor Steve Kucharski said that the Christmas Eve collection had been stolen from a church offering, this according to a story in the Merrimack (NH) Journal.

It took nearly a week after the alleged theft for the Merrimack police to be brought in to investigate the crime, but they were able to make contact with church officials on Tuesday morning December 31.

According to Michael Vacca, Kucharski told the congregation during Sunday morning mass that the money had been taken out of a locked closet inside the pastor’s office sometime after the 5:30 p.m. Christmas Eve mass.The theft was apparently discovered prior to the midnight mass.

The 5:30 mass was standing room only, Vacca said, with nearly 1,000 people leading him to speculate that it may have been the church’s largest collection of the year.

The office area is positioned within the foyer, and anyone in the foyer area could have seen, through the interior office windows, where the money was placed.

Merrimack Police Chief William Mulligan said the department only became aware of the incident upon a reporter’s inquiry Monday, but several attempts by police to reach the church office Monday were unsuccessful.

Finally, on Tuesday morning, an officer made contact with church officials and filed a theft report. According to the press reports, it is unclear just how much money was stolen.

Inquiries made by the Safety Reminder in early February have not produced any other answers.

Now, assuming that the facts as known are true, what safety issues are involved? Why should you have any interest in this matter? Let’s look at some of the factors.

1. “I can’t imagine it was a parishioner” Vacca said. In security of property the unexpected should be considered.
2. The money was stored in the office. Where else would a thief start to look for money?
3. The office was visible from the foyer. An obvious hazard that was overlooked.
4. The money was put in a cabinet. Easily and quickly broken into.
5. The theft occurred after the Christmas Eve Mass. Why not steal when the most money is there? Early train and stagecoach always knew of the payroll or the gold bullion shipments. The risks were always greater then and extra security was needed.
6. Why not take the money to the bank after each mass? Often when hazard analysis is done, there is reluctance to take action. “We’ve never had a problem before” some might say. “It’s too much trouble” might be another answer.

Are the facts as represented? Any incident investigation must consider that the truth may not have been told. Sometimes someone is protecting someone else. Or there may have been violations of company policies. Often extensive questioning and validation is required and with no guarantee of success.

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