It really sucks when equipment go missing.
My troop issues euquipment at school and collects them at the same place. No one goes back until the euquipment is cleaned, dried and stored in the Scout den. If time does not permit, we store it first and come back later to clean and rarely do we have Scouts taking equipment back to their homes.
If any of the equipment is damaged, the patrol repsponsible have to repair it or find some other monetary means to replace it. We try to avoid the monetary path unless it is really necessary.
I agree that good paperwork is needed to keep track
