CanadaNews’ Reporter Notes

Can you imagine stealing from a church? Can you imagine ANYONE stealing from a church? It seems like an unthinkable sin. Like something out of a crime novel, or an episode of Law & Order (the original).

Remember hearing about the $445,000 stolen by a church administrator? What about the church daycare worker who embezzled $240,000. And let’s not forget the three-ringed circus that involved $500,000 stolen by a pastor, a bookkeeper and a spouse.

These are just the recent situations. Stealing from churches has been a common thing for a very long time. Churches might be the most unlikely victim, which is why those who do steal from them might be able to do it so easily.

Growing up, I would have never considered such a thing. The church was sacred and was more of a family. People who came to church came for a chance to recharge their spiritual batteries. They came to hear the Word. When those batteries were recharged, they were ready to be a part of the world again.

Our church raised money to help expand (you know what I mean: the dreaded building fund); physically and spiritually. The youth group raised money to travel and do missionary work. It was a chance for us young kids to give something back, since we didn’t have any money – we were kids.

When I was in undergrad, there were a few people whom I knew that were arrested for stealing from several churches. Their crime was unlike those that I am speaking of (this is purely to develop connection). These people [ages 12-19] actually robbed the churches. They stole keyboards, money, guitars, nick-knacks, and odd-n-ends. As I said, these people were arrested and received various sentences that ranged from fines, probation, and/or local jail time [or in a state institution].

I was very surprised that these kids were willing to do such a vile thing. I was outraged. And I was angry. One thing I wondered was: “What could posses someone to do such a thing? What type of person would consider that to be exciting?!”

People come in and let their human nature side override their religious/spiritual side.

Being a bit older [and sometimes wiser] I have heard about more serious crimes than what the kids were doing – like embezzlement. This is more serious because it’s something that usually goes on for quite some time before anyone even notices. In the cases I mentioned earlier, those went on for years.

It’s unbelievably low to steal from a church. This action pin-point just how much greed has played a role in the destruction of our society.

The American Psychiatric Association is meeting this week here in Washington, DC at the Washington Convention Centre. One of the sessions dealt with such a topic: people who steal.

When you steal, it’s a terrible thing; but when you steal from a church the culture of trust, that allows the church to operate, makes them some of the hardest hit by theft and embezzlement. People begin to question everything and in some cases, attendance drops. People just don’t have faith in those in charge.

The good news is, not every church is equally at risk. Experts during the conference believe that a handful of money-management mistakes often make one more prone than another. This problem is a mixture of poor management and down-right cold heartless actions.

So why do they steal? And why a church?

Psychiatrists attending the APA Annual Meeting said these people suffer from an illness called Kleptomania (along with some other variables). It is an inability or great difficulty in resisting impulses of stealing.

People with this disorder are compelled to steal things. The reason why many attending the conference doesn’t say it’s solely the disorder because it generally things of little or no value, such as pens, paper clips, tape, small toys, or packets of sugar. Another reason is that some may not be aware that they have committed the theft. These people who embezzle and rob churches show it’s committed over a period of time.

Since the 1960s, kleptomania first officially became a United States mental disorder via the case of the state of California v. Douglas Jones.

Importantly, Kleptomania is different ordinary theft, as thieves generally steal for monetary value, whereas kleptomaniacs are not necessarily contemplating the value of the items they steal.

People with this disorder are likely to have a comorbid condition, specifically paranoid, schizoid or borderline personality disorder. Kleptomania can occur after traumatic brain injury and carbon monoxide poisoning.

Kleptomania is usually thought of as part of the obsessive-compulsive disorder spectrum, although emerging evidence suggests that it may be more similar to addictive and mood disorders. In particular, this disorder is frequently co-morbid with substance use disorders, and it is common for individuals with kleptomania to have first-degree relatives who suffer from a substance use disorder.

Obviously there are several reasons why people steal have you ever stolen anything?). The Christian Bible says, “For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil” 1 Timothy 6:10.

Could it be that those who rob churches do not fear God? It would seem certain that they know the existence of God – yet, they still continue on skimping and stealing. What is the difference between a stealer and a kleptomaniac? Many jokingly said that the “difference is the same”. Usually, kleptomaniacs are well-to-do people but they love to pick choice items in department stores because they are neurotic. But church personnel who steal the parish’s money know that it was pure stealing. They had in fact committed a sin since most of them are professing Christians.

Churches are generally not considered ‘real;’ or animated. They are looked at as institutions and businesses. They aren’t people. Some of those who commit these crimes don’t see that they are doing immediate and long-term harm. I think to be comfortable with stealing from a church is emotionally sick.

One the management side, it is believed there is usually a lack of established procedures, that are consistently cited as the best predictor of embezzlement. Specifically, experts warn against settling for mom-and-pop-type accounting practices.

“Good internal controls are easier to achieve if you can separate functions,” explains Katie Hoeller, director of the Chicago Archdiocesan Office for Parish Finances. “In the most recent cases [of embezzlement], too much trust has been placed in one person, which allowed the fraud and embezzlement to happen.”

Now I don’t mean if you have a person serving in the treasurer position for a long time, that you have to keep your eyes on them.

To embezzle from a church a person has to create a false financial statement that covers up the money they are taking. Usually this person is the sole person responsible for keeping the church’s books.

It’s a reality that churches are businesses too. These businesses just preach the World of God. Financial experts and those attending the APA conference all believe there are ways fix the problem.

* One thing is to make sure the finance secretary and treasurer are two different people. It’s all too easy, they say, for funds to go missing when the same person deposits the money and writes the checks.

* Always have at least two (unrelated) people present to count the funds, and rotate these team members often. Make sure counting is done out in the open, not behind closed doors. Collections are going to be about the same every week. If they notice any major changes with the amount, it would be easier to detect.

* It’s also a good idea to rotate treasurers, and to insist they use their vacation time. Reassign their jobs in their absence, and don’t wait until they return to deposit funds. Embezzlers can’t afford to take time off — that’s usually when their crimes are exposed.

* Also be sure to keep up with your policies. Experts point out that guidelines are often strictly enforced in the beginning, but leaders grow complacent when someone new takes over the position, or if they feel they can implicitly trust the volunteers in charge of the money. Simply putting policies in place discourages would-be thieves from claiming ignorance as a defense for their actions.