I seeked a thief! I couldn't figure out if moving the guard around did anything. But I liked the idea and it's fun how it goes from seeming impossible to being very do-able quickly.
The thief won't steal a gem if the guard is nearby, they will move towards the security stations to cause a camera disruption, forcing the security guard to abandon the gem and fix the disruption. Not well explained, but helpful for finding the thief by making them a bit reckless.