Business permits or workers permits will do almost nothing to increase safety or prevent theft. But it will provide another layer of government and another tax on citizens. Okaloosa county requires business permits for most everything including individual workers such as sports referees. It makes me feel good at meetings when I am able to say that I do not need a business permit to referee games because MY home county, Walton County does not require such. But I know of no Okaloosa referee who has ever been checked to see if they have one. All it is is a tax on citizens. The state requires a "Jessica Lunsford" badge to work at schools, including referees, but while a good idea it is rarely enforced. In fact I have been checked one time over all these years. That was in Holmes County. If you want to decrease theft, increase the random patrol of neighborhoods by marked patrol units and have investigators who work hard to develop sources and pursue tips. Plus have a good relationship and monitoring program with local pawn shops. Finally, educate the public on how to harden targets and make themselves harder to victimize.