Every organisation needs to know there may be a link between substance abuse and criminality. These often go hand in hand, but most often we assume that the substance abusing criminal is an unemployed and unkempt individual, short on prospects and high on his/her drug of choice. We assume this archetype is obvious, readily identifiable and visible.
But this is not so.
A large proportion of drug and alcohol users and abusers are in gainful employment, and that can increase risk to your business – risk that requires identification, control and mitigation. According to one theory, cited at Emergency Management Australia (Raskin, White and Gordon, 2000) drug use can lead to crime, and this can have adverse effects on any community.[1] One major area is fraud. Your organization needs to protect against fraud by substance abusers, and this may be done by paying close attention to employees and their behaviours and practices.
Fraud
The Australian Crime Commission is increasingly concerned about fraud in business, and says that “technological developments have created additional opportunities for fraud.”[2] Categories of fraud that can impact your business and that substance dependent employees may be involved in, include:
- Insurance fraud
- Superannuation fraud
- Welfare fraud
- Revenue and tax fraud
- Investment fraud
- Card fraud
- Telecommunications fraud
- Advance fee fraud
- Health fraud
- Securities fraud[3]
In 2008-9, KPMG ran a fraud survey that revealed a sizeable increase in the amount of fraud occurring in Australia and New Zealand, as compared to their 2006 survey.[4] “The total value of fraud reported was $301.1 million with an average for each organisation of $1.5 million….Non-management groups were also found to be the group most likely to commit major fraud…and 89% of the value of major fraud was never recovered.”[5]
KPMG’s blanket finding and outcome summary of the survey was that most organisations “need to improve their fraud risk management strategies in response to the continued increase in the prevalence” of the problem.[6]
The link between drugs and crime is well known, and if this is impacting your business in the form of theft and small scale illegalities, or larger fraud scale illegalities, then you may need to implement independent onsite screening procedures that can be incorporated into your fraud risk management strategies.
Other ways to prevent illegality in your workplace include education on the factors that contribute to it as well as understanding the profile of individual and collective fraud cases. This involves considering:
Types of fraud
- Incurred losses
- Profile of suspected or proven perpetrators.[7]
It can also include developing an onsite screening programme that effectively alerts you to problem employees who may be on substances and who therefore may be high-risk candidates for fraudulent activities in your workplace.
Be alert to fraud in the workplace. When developing an onsite screening programme, seek out the services of industry leaders and professionals who can develop a screening programme that matches your organisation’s profile and needs.
Mediscreen’s staff is available to assist you with enquiries about or development of a screening programme that can help to monitor your employees clearly and easily. Phone Mediscreen on 1300 797040.
[1] Sourced: http://www.ema.gov.au
[2] www.crimecommission.gov.au/publications/crime-profile-series/frauds.htm
[3] www.crimecommission.gov.au/publications/crime-profile-series/frauds.htm
[4] http://www.kpmg.com.au/aci/docs/FraudSurvey2008a.pdf
[5] http://www.kpmg.com.au/aci/docs/FraudSurvey2008a.pdf
[6] ibid
[7] ibid
