Crime at Walmarts

[Optimistic Paranoid]

Just ran across this article while researching something else.  Posted just as an FYI. 

https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2016-walmart-crime/

 

[SoulRaven]

They only thing that annoyed me about the article was mentioning that Target did not allow "camping" in their parking lot like Wal-Mart as part of the reason, or implying part of the reason, that Target has less crime. What I have seen is that people shoplift and return the items to Wal-Mart for credit. I know they limit how many times or how much money during a certain period this is allowed, but it was obvious that was a booming enterprise for thieves from talking to an employee who was in the position to know.

 

[slynne]

I think that city in Indiana has the right idea. Charge Walmart for every police call to their property. That gives them an incentive to prevent police calls. Obviously the store has an incentive to make their customers feel safe too.

 

[lenny flank]

Most of the crime in Walmarts has nothing to do with the vehicles in the parking lot.

I Walmart-park almost exclusively. Never had any problem of any sort anywhere.

I consider it no more unsafe or dangerous than staying at a motel.

 

[Almost There]

What annoys me is that the 'camping' in W/M even came up.

It's not part of the picture...the shop-lifting that occurs does so in higher percentages in the downtown, low income stores where Target wouldn't even think of putting a store.

Having RV's parked in the perimeter of the parking lot neither enhances nor detracts from the shop-lifters ability to exit a store without apprehension.

The higher crime rate is a good example of why I pick and choose which W/M I will stay at. Given a choice between say one in Nashville proper and one in a suburb 1/2 and hour down the pike...I'm headed out of town.

 

[tx2sturgis]

The author picks two or three examples of stores in run-down, poor neighborhoods and doesnt mention the other 3000 stores that have infrequent trouble.

Plus, criminals will do their crimes SOMEWHERE. Either at Walmart or in other areas.

Maybe even in the nice neighborhoods near you.


Oh well, thats journalism today.

 

[TrainChaser]

* Walmart attracts the lowest common denominator.
* Walmart has easy exits for shoplifters.
* Walmart greeters aren't supposed to try to stop thieves exiting with merchandise.
* Walmart doesn't have any of their own security people like other stores, and every thief in town knows it.
* Walmart knows that having an employee mark a receipt is a joke.
* Walmart doesn't care what their problems cost the local police departments or the local taxpayers.

WALMART DOESN'T CARE ABOUT ANYTHING BUT SHIPPING THE MONEY HOME TO BENTONVILLE.

Until it starts costing them some really big bucks, nothing is going to change. Once again, FOLLOW THE MONEY.

 

[caretaker]

my guess what with Amazon buying Whole foods Walmart is kinda nervous

 

[Weight]

That is just a bash Walmart article. Next edition will trash some other retailer. I appreciate the cheap underwear, save on laundry, keep the Southerners home and at work.

 

[ChickadeeJP]

Until it starts costing them some really big bucks, nothing is going to change.  Once again, FOLLOW THE MONEY.

No employee of any retail store is supposed to try to stop a thief from exiting the store. It's pretty universal rule unless the person is trained security or loss prevention, and even then it's frowned upon. No company wants those kinds of lawsuits (hurt employee or hurt thief).

It does surprise me that they don't have trained security like most big stores. Though the security we had at the Target I worked at in Flint Twp was a joke. The one woman couldn't even walk faster than my young son. And the doors at Walmart are totally made for a quick exit, I hadn't thought about that before. Whereas Target has single doors and are slower to open with the entrance and exit ones not always making sense to where they are located.

I live near Flint, Michigan. We have a handful of Walmarts around including Flint Twp, Burton (lower class area), Grand Blanc (higher class area). We also have a Target, but the one in Burton closed due to cost to run, so I'm guessing shrink. We have Meijer in almost every town, but the one that was in Flint Twp closed due to high shrink. They just bailed at the end of the lease and the building was demolished. There is no way I would park at the Burton or Flint Twp Walmarts but I might at Grand Blanc or further away ones in smaller areas. The thing about Walmart is that they are willing to put a store anywhere. That is a blessing for access to goods but also a detriment to local businesses. If they can sell enough cheap crap and cut costs in all kinds of ways, then a little shrink doesn't matter to them.

 

[lenny flank]

The part about "no security" baffles me, since at least half of the Walmarts I've been in across the country have security either at the doorway, in the parking lot, or both.

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

 . . . Until it starts costing them some really big bucks, nothing is going to change . . .

First, it would surprise me if companies are not charged for emergency calls.  The companies that I worked for (Minneapolis, MN area) were charged any time police, fire, or EMTs were called to their location and it wasn't cheap.

Second, if it starts to cost the really big bucks their prices will have to go up.  That hurts the people that shop there on limited incomes the most.  I don't see how that would help a community.

Third, the Walmarts around me have security, they just look like regular shoppers.  I've seen them in action.  They cannot arrest or ticket anyone so the police still have to be called.

Making money is the primary concern for any business; if it isn't they go out of business quickly.

 -- Spiff

 

[tx2sturgis]

* Walmart doesn't care what their problems cost the local police departments or the local taxpayers.

Wow...just gonna addess this one:

Any large retailer in a town or city pays more in real estate taxes than a lot of people even EARN in that neighborhood.

If you think they get a pass on local city, county, and school taxes, think again. Again, modern journalism at work. Sell an article with 1000 or 2000 words....avoid mentioning the 'hidden' facts, like all the charities they support and the hundreds of thousands of dollars per year of local wages, during the construction, and to employees during the lifetime of the store. And all of THOSE people pay taxes....its a domino effect. 

Economics 101.

 

[SoulRaven]

I had a funny thought about the "camping" in the parking lot and shoplifting. I was talking to a greeter that told me they caught someone trying to wheel out a big screen TV, BIG one. OK, which one of you "camping" at Wal-Mart was going to put that in your van? Most often this will be locals who know how everything operates at the particular store.

 

[TrainChaser]

"Any large retailer in a town or city pays more in real estate taxes than a lot of people even EARN in that neighborhood."

That isn't even the point.  They MAKE more money, too, don't they?  I don't see police cars at ANY business more than I see at Walmart.

Let's do a little comparison with 2016 figures from MarketWatch:  

Nordstrom Dept Stores have 349 stores in the U.S. and a total annual net income of $354 million (average store income = just over $1 million), AND they  have their own security teams.

Walmart has 4,575 stores in the U.S. and a total net annual income of $14.7 billion (average store income = $3.2 million).  Walmart has 'security' people who are really just regular store employees who watch people put stuff in their pockets or bags, and they call local police.  (I know quite a few people who work or have worked for Walmart.)

Yes, they pay some taxes.  Yes, they provide jobs.  BUT when a city police officer is STATIONED at a WalMart, which side of the cost fulcrum do you think it sits on?

And if you want to extrapolate that a little farther as to how it affects van dwellers.... A while back I looked up Atlanta, GA Walmarts for overnight parking for someone. There are seven stores in the immediate area, and NONE of them allow overnight parking. 

Okay, that's a city in the South with a poor crime rep, so I tried the three joined towns where I grew up as a kid, about 25 mi. E of Los Angeles, CA.  There is one Walmart in each town, no parking allowed in any of them.  Do you think that is due to crime, or just a coincidence? https://www.allstays.com/c/wal-mart-locations.htm

Walmart is taking advantage, PERIOD.  And everyone else pays the price, one way or another. Follow the Money.

 

[Richard]

... A while back I looked up Atlanta, GA Walmarts for overnight parking for someone. There are seven stores in the immediate area, and NONE of them allow overnight parking. 

Okay, that's a city in the South with a poor crime rep, so I tried the three joined towns where I grew up as a kid, about 25 mi. E of Los Angeles, CA.  There is one Walmart in each town, no parking allowed in any of them.  Do you think that is due to crime, or just a coincidence? ...

A little clarity on the overnight parking policy at WalMart: it mostly depends on whether WalMart owns the property that their stores stands on, or whether they're leasing space on someone else's property.

When WalMart owns the property, more often than not I've been able to park there without a problem (except near the California coast; see below).

The rest of the time, when WalMart resides on property owned by another, it's up to the actual property owner to set the overnight policy for it's property. In my experience over the past year, that's almost universally a 'no-overnight-parking' location. These WalMarts are pretty easy to identify (generally speaking) by whether there's a strip mall sharing some edge of the parking area.

It's been my experience in California that WalMarts near the coast are almost exclusively built on someone else's commercial property. I drove from San Diego up into Washington last year and if memory serves, I only found a few WalMarts between San Diego and San Francisco (roughly along the coast) that allowed me to park overnight. Farther north in California it seemed to relax a bit.

 

[Almost There]

While it's completely off topic - whether or not you can overnight park (note I didn't say 'camp') at any specific WalMart depends not only on the individual store manager but more often on the municipal jurisdiction in which the store is located.

While W/M corporate policy is to allow it, the individual store manager remains free to override the corporate policy if he/she deems it necessary. Some do it because the lot is simply too small to accommodate. Some have done it because of damage done. Cottonwood instituted a no overnight after some long term camper in the parking lot had a violent and deadly encounter with police.

A lot of towns/cities in high tourist areas have passed town by-laws prohibiting any overnight parking inside their town limits and that applies to any commercial property as well as the streets.

Some towns are forced in to it by local businesses that see W/M as taking their campground business away from them...seriously it's been a problem in some areas. In others the town council has, in their infinite wisdom, decided that they don't want RVs parking in their town. For example, years ago the W/M at the entrance to Cape Cod has to be signed no overnight from May 15th to Sept. 10th - high tourist season. The rest of the year, they don't care! The town enforces it, not the store.

 

[tx2sturgis]

Nordstrom Dept Stores have 349 stores in the U.S. and a total annual net income of $354 million (average store income = just over $1 million), AND they  have their own security teams.


Yes, they pay some taxes.  Yes, they provide jobs.  BUT when a city police officer is STATIONED at a WalMart, which side of the cost fulcrum do you think it sits on?

 Now...you cant have it both ways...your saying its OK if another retailer hires a security 'team'...whatever that means, but its NOT ok if Walmart hires off-duty cops?

Ok...since you and the OP are bringing in data to support a negative position, let me do the same for the other 'side'.....not saying any corporation is an angel, but some balance of facts appears to be needed:

Pick at least two and read them. Concensus is of course, not needed. But consumers do tend to vote with their wallet:





http://www.publicceo.com/2014/02/walmart-a-boon-to-local-economies-study-finds/

https://www.forbes.com/200801/09/walmart-retail-economy-biz-commerce-cx_tvr_0110walmart.html/

https://fee.org/articles/wal-mart-is-good-for-the-economy/

http://www.wupr.org/2009/11/21/why-walmart-is-good-for-america/

[size=medium]http://www.wupr.org/2009/11/21/why-walmart-is-good-for-america/[/size]

http://www.militarytimes.com/articles/wal-mart-hires-170-000-vets/[/SIZE]

https://doublethedonation.com/blog/2014/08/top-10-companies-that-donated-to-charity/[/SIZE]

 

[tx2sturgis]

Sorry for the messy post, I'm working with a very weak signal right now...and by the time i can fix the previous post the timer will have run out.


Another one:

http://www.dailyyonder.com/better-wal-mart-without/2013/03/29/5701/

 

[caretaker]

guys walmart does NOT pay taxes, they will NOT build a store unless they are given massive tax breaks or deferments.