operator  turns  the  tender  over  to  an  agent,  the agent  must  secure  the  tender  in  a  lockable, specially  identified  container  or  compartment. THEFTS FROM THE CASH REGISTER.— As  a  supervisor,  you  will  establish  and  enforce controls at your commissary to maintain security of  money  in  the  store.  There  are  still  various means   by   which   a   dishonest   employee   may attempt  to  get  around  these  controls. Theft  from  a  cash  register  can  occur  when  a patron  pays  the  exact  amount  for  a  purchase, accepts  the  bagged  merchandise,  and  leaves  the register without receiving a cash register receipt. (In  other  words,  theft  from  a  cash  register  can occur  at  any  time  during  the  business  day.)  A dishonest register operator will place the cash in the register with the next sale and accumulate an overage  in  the  cash  drawer.  Such  theft  is  also possible  if  the  clerk  is  operating  with  an  open register  drawer.  The  overage  is  removed  later.  The operator  may  keep  mental  or  written  notes  or other reminders as to the amount of the overage. An   example   of   such   reminders   could   be   an accumulation   of   matches   near   the   register   or possibly pennies in the nickel or other coin till to correspond  to  the  dollar  amount  of  the  overage. Other  indications  of  this  practice  may  be  in  the form of persistent small overages in an operator’s cash  drawer;  that  is,  the  even  dollar  amount  is removed and the small change left so that the clerk will   not   be   “short.” The   following   examples   of   theft   illustrate additional  methods  that  dishonest  register operators  (and  supervisors)  may  try  to  use  to  beat the  security  system  in  your  store. Underring—This  method  generally  occurs during peak sales hours. The customer is charged full  price  but  a  lesser  amount  is  recorded  on the  cash  register.  The  register  receipt  is  discarded and not given to the customer. An overage is thus accumulated  for  later  removal.  This  practice  is made  easier  sometimes  when  register  windows  are obstructed so that the amount rung up cannot be seen  by  patrons  or  supervisory  personnel. Short   ring—The   register   operator deliberately  fails  to  ring  up  one  or  more  items during a sale. On completing the transaction, the operator  tells  the  patron  of  the  omission,  adds these   items   to   the   register   receipt   in   pen   or pencil,  and  then  collects  the  correct  amount  for the sale. An overage is created in the register for later  removal. Overcharge—The   clerk   rings   up   the correct  price  but  collects  a  higher  amount  from the patron. Again an overage is created for later removal. Fraudulent   refunds   or   overrings—The operator  commits  theft  from  the  operator’s  own cash drawer by creating spurious refunds and/or overrings  to  cover  the  amount  taken. Altering  refund/overring  documents— Failure  by  supervisory  personnel  to  control  and validate  refunds  or  overrings  can  result  in  this abuse. Theft from another register operator’s cash drawer—This  form  of  theft  can  occur  when  the register is left unattended and the cash drawer is unlocked  and  the  key  has  not  been  removed. Theft  from  another  register  operator’s register by use of a secret number—This type of theft  is  possible  when  operators  share  their  secret numbers  with  each  other  for  fraudulent  purposes. Theft  from  a  common  cash  drawer  or safe—This type of theft can occur in a case where two  or  more  register  operators  share  a  common drawer or two collection agents share a common safe  combination.  Without  singular  accountability for the cash, responsibility is extremely difficult to  pinpoint. PREVENTIVE  MEASURES.—  Sooner  or later,  almost  every  supervisor  will  run  across  a dishonest   employee. There   are   measures, however,  that  a  good  supervisor  can  take  to  lessen temptation on the part of commissary personnel. A few of these preventive measures are discussed below. The  cash  register  window  facing  the operator should be unobstructed at all times. The side away from the operator should also be clear so  that  ring-up  figures  can  be  readily  seen  by patrons   and   by   supervisory   personnel.   This preventive  measure  acts  as  a  deterrent  to underringing. All  sales  should  be  recorded  promptly  on the assigned register. Cash  drawers  should  not  be  shared. Error   corrections kept  to  a  minimum. and no sales should be 8-24