Something to be aware of while overnighting at Walmart

[Van Lady]

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

This article is long but I found it informative......maybe you would be interested too.

I had no idea of the crime problems associated with Walmart. I have to admit it gives me pause and makes me think maybe it is better to overnight at an alternative location.

What are your thoughts/experiences?

 

[DreamTransit1]

I read it and believe that those type of crooks and bad guys & gals are not necessarily the type to break into an RV. But I also have been made aware of certain Walmarts, i.e. the one in Florida City FL where pro vehicle content thieves do target vacationer's stuff.
So yes, Walmart is not as secure as one might assume.

 

[Almost There]

I've never had trouble at a W/M in years and years of using them.

But then I choose my W/M's carefully. The ones IN and around big cities get an automatic pass by me. The one's in smaller towns are usually much safer.

I also make it a habit to park close to the store while I do my shopping and THEN move to the perimeter of the parking lot, parking within reasonable closeness to other RVs. Once parked I don't leave my vehicle, as a matter of fact that is one reason I chose the van. I can move from the drivers' seat to the living quarters without exiting the vehicle. The drapes are drawn and no one knows the gender etc of the person inside.

 

[SoulRaven]

One of the issues is that Wal-Mart has put so many other stores out of business that they now serve all of the customers in an area, putting everyone in one place. The area of town makes a big difference, or that is what we have seen in bigger cities. Here, in a town of 25,000, the greeter told me that someone actually tried to come through with a big screen TV on a cart without paying.

I haven't seen that many problems talked about with RVers staying and having issues, but it would always work out better to try to get feedback for a particular area.

 

[rvwandering]

That is a troubling article but most of the crimes are shoplifting. Violent crimes could happen on the street or in some other parking lot given the high crime rate of the areas where some big city Walmarts are located so I don't think Walmarts are inherently dangerous.

We've stayed in hundreds of Walmarts all across the country over the last 20 years and have never had any problems. The only crime that we've witnessed was a young guy who grabbed a woman's purse in the parking lot. However you should be cautious and find another place to stay if anything makes you feel uneasy.

 

[Wanderer]

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

This article is long but I found it informative......maybe you would be interested too.

I had no idea of the crime problems associated with Walmart. I have to admit it gives me pause and makes me think maybe it is better to overnight at an alternative location.

What are your thoughts/experiences?

It obviously depends on location.

Having worked for WM in Orchards, WA I found security to be overwhelmed some days (One time the security guy ran to the front 6 times to catch the shoplifter) They could use more, but it still doesn't make them culpable in crimes OUTSIDE the store...What are they supposed to do? Have armed security roaming the parking lots?  (I know of one which does have roaming security  but that's for parking mainly)

I mean it seems this writer had a chip on their shoulder writing as they did...Had they gone to S Cal or S Texas, they might have found other store chains with similar issues...

Anyway, I frankly appreciate WM for being open 24/7...Now personally I'd factor in the area and target (hee hee) one to stay open 24/7 and then everyone in 10 miles, shut down....

I know I got one window broken out at the WM, but I am still not sure if it was kids vandalizing, or a random pebble tossed up by a speeding car (The street racers come by to the 192nd one)  or someone intent on stealing....

It's this part that makes me wonder about the time they spend at the WM:

 His squad’s sergeant, Robert Rohloff, a 34-year police veteran who has to worry about staffing, budgets, and patrolling the busiest commercial district in Tulsa, says there’s nothing funny about Walmart’s impact on public safety. He can’t believe, he says, that a multibillion-dollar corporation isn’t doing more to stop crime. Instead, he says, it offloads the job to the police at taxpayers’ expense. “It’s ridiculous—we are talking about the biggest retailer in the world,” says Rohloff. “I may have half my squad there for hours.”

Excuse me? But how about having 1-2 officers roam the aisles with WM employees and thus, reducing thefts and (Maybe ) have WM split the costs?

 

[speedhighway46]

I've stayed in more than 60 Walmarts in the past five years in Michigan, Indiana, Ohio and Illinois; returning to some of them annually.

I don't stay in Walmarts in "Bad Neighborhoods" or ones in the central core of big cities. It's all about risk management, managing probability, and situational awareness.

I've enjoyed the comments in this thread.

Also, thanks to Walmart for being so accommodating by letting me "dwell" overnight when I need to.

. . . think I'll run in and buy some pork steaks for dinner . . .

 

[AngryVanMan]

One violent crime per day nationwide at the most prevalent 24 hour retailer and the headline reads "Out-of-control crime problem?" There's something wrong with this picture, and it's not a crime wave, but more like sky is falling clickbait journalism.

~1 violent crime per day, 4,500 Walmart locations... So if you stay at a Walmart all day, every day this year and never leave or spend time elsewhere, you have a 12% average chance of being near a location (within a few thousand feet) where a violent crime may occur, along with dozens or potentially hundreds of other people depending on the store or the time of day. Even selecting the parking lot you stay at based on the type of neighborhood would drastically reduce this "risk" as Almost There mentioned. I wouldn't worry too much about it just yet. It's true that Walmart is a concentration point for crime stats, primarily for the reasons Snow Gypsy said, putting many people in one place, and giving that same patch of land the same name "Walmart" all across the country in towns and cities everywhere.

 

[Every Road Leads Home]

First let me say I think everyone should by all means stay with in their comfort zones and never do anything they aren't comfortable doing. Simple precautions should be taken and one should be prepared the same as they're prepared for a roadside break down or first aid emergency........outside of that I think most people's fears are instilled through the media. It's been ingrained in our heads that we live in a very dangerous time in a very dangerous country when it actually couldn't be further from the truth. Heck, we have a guy running for president and it's based on that very premise.......during the National Republic Convention there was a banner scrolling saying "Lets make America safe again" Safe from what? Violent crimes are at a 20 year low, murder rates are down even though gun sales are way up, drunk driving related accidents and deaths are down, wars are at an all time low. Teenage pregnancy is down, child mortality has hit a rock bottom, chances of dying from infectious diseases is low. Then there's the whole terrorist debate......you're more likely to be killed falling down the stairs then you are being killed in a terrorist attack. What do we need to be made safe against?

Yes there are bad people, yes anyone can be victim of a crime, but the odds of it happening are so minuscule I feel bad for people who miss out on experiences and seeing places over these fears. After all, you have a much greater chance of being hurt or killed in your automobile yet that never slows anyone down. The media is a powerful machine and it subliminally alters the way you think and feel about things over the entire course of your life and no one realizes it's happening. Fear is a powerful tool and it can be used to sway the masses.

 

[TrainChaser]

There are two issues here.

#1 - Is it safe for van dwellers to camp overnight at Walmart? Mostly Yes. Do a little homework, and check the place out. If there are "issues", go elsewhere. If you see someone running out of the store past the greeter with a box in their arms, get out of the way.

#2 - Is Walmart increasing their profit margin by not providing their own security? ABSOLUTELY. My question: Why are the local police departments putting up with it? Too gutless to do anything else? Stop doing it and the word will get around: Shop at Walmart at your own risk.

 

[speedhighway46]

I would guess the reason local jurisdictions are "putting up with it" is that having a Walmart in their town is a source for property tax revenue. That would make the local Walmart a "customer" of the town, and the LEOs have been told to take care of the town's customers.

Also, Walmart is in the retailing business, not the law enforcement business. Why would they not want to use the local cops for law enforcement outside on their properties. That would cost them money, and would reduce their margins.

Staying at Walmarts as much as I do I see local cops cruising through the parking lots several times each evening. Works for Walmart . . . and for me.

 

[Gary68]

"LANCASTER, Ohio – A pet monkey got loose in a Wal-Mart parking lot in Lancaster, Ohio Sunday night after apparently escaping from a recreational vehicle.

Video taken by Richelle Stewart shows a store employee trying to corral the diaper-wearing primate near the shopping cart return area.

When the man gets close, however, the monkey can be seen jumping from the metal railing and grabbing him by the arm and clothing. A woman runs up to the employee yelling, “Let him go, let him go, let him go! If he bites you, they will put him down.”

The woman grabs the monkey by the hand and walks to an RV parked in the lot"

http://wtvr.com/2016/08/15/video-monkey-gets-loose-scuffles-with-wal-mart-employee-in-parking-lot/

 

[Every Road Leads Home]

You gotta be crazy to try and coral one of them, they'll tear you up like nobody's business

 

[cognitive dissonance]

It's this part that makes me wonder about the time they spend at the WM:

His squad’s sergeant, Robert Rohloff, a 34-year police veteran who has to worry about staffing, budgets, and patrolling the busiest commercial district in Tulsa, says there’s nothing funny about Walmart’s impact on public safety. He can’t believe, he says, that a multibillion-dollar corporation isn’t doing more to stop crime. Instead, he says, it offloads the job to the police at taxpayers’ expense. “It’s ridiculous—we are talking about the biggest retailer in the world,” says Rohloff. “I may have half my squad there for hours.”

Not only does Walmert pay exorbitant property taxes to the local jurisdiction, they collect and remit an astounding amount of sales tax - month in and month out.

These taxes are what pay for police departments. How about that lazy bureaucrat stop being dishonest about the equation and just do his job? Really. I don't believe he has half his squad there for hours. every day, unless it's a very small squad. Whatever the "burden" it's no big deal if the taxes Walmart remits covers their salaries, and I'm quite sure Walmart's tax remittance more than covers that expense.

Then, think about all the court costs, fees and fines that result, on top of that. That's a whole bunch more the locals are collecting to pay for themselves...

And no, Walmart shouldn't "split the cost" or "do more".

After all, Walmart doesn't pay a cent of it. They can't. The only money they have is the money they collect from us when we shop there. Every cent they pay is first collected directly from us, reflected either in higher prices for merchandise or sales taxes added on top of that.

If we weren't economically illiterate and asleep at the wheel, government bureaucrats would be afraid to say crap like that.

 

[jimindenver]

The town of Lakeside Colorado is tiny ( pop 20) and use to be not much more than a amusement park with one family owning most of it. The Police Department ran speed traps and that was about it until they got a Walmart. They had to expand the Police department so much that they couldn't afford it and had to get a loan from Walmart to do it.

 

[cognitive dissonance]

The town of Lakeside Colorado is tiny  ( pop 20) and use to be not much more than a amusement park with one family owning most of it. The Police Department ran speed traps and that was about it until they got a Walmart. They had to expand the Police department so much that they couldn't afford it and had to get a loan from Walmart to do it.

Not sure what you're trying to say here. Are you?

Fact is, the Lakeside Mall was there for decades before the Walmart was built on the same spot. The exact same element that's now causing problems at Walmart was always present at the mall and even more so at the amusement park.

So, nothing has changed.

The problem is not Walmart, it's that the town of Lakeside was never intended to be viable. It was founded (100 plus years ago) for the sole purpose of avoiding Denver liquor laws.

Far be it from any long-struggling bureaucratic fiefdom to do something sensible like merging into the adjacent city of Wheat Ridge, though...  

As to that, it has always been obvious that incorporated cities are redundant. The smartest move of all would be to simply dissolve the town and let jurisdiction revert to Jefferson County.

 

[Ella1]

I'm re-reading the headline and the article again: " Walmart’s Out-of-Control Crime Problem Is Driving Police Crazy" .
The article states "...More than 200 violent crimes, including attempted kidnappings and multiple stabbings, shootings, and murders, have occurred at the nation’s 4,500 Walmarts this year, or about one a day,..."
"... “The constant calls from Walmart are just draining,” says Bill Ferguson, a police captain in Port Richey, Fla. “They recognize the problem and refuse to do anything about it.”

There’s nothing inevitable about the level of crime at Walmart. It’s the direct, if unintended, result of corporate policy. Beginning as far back as 2000, when former CEO Lee Scott took over, an aggressive cost-cutting crusade led many stores to deteriorate. The famed greeters were removed, taking away a deterrent to theft at the porous entrances and exits. Self-checkout scanners replaced many cashiers. Walmart added stores faster than it hired employees. The company has one worker for every 524 square feet of retail space, a 19 percent increase in space per employee from a decade ago...."
and, "... For criminals, however, the cutbacks were like sending out a message that no one at Walmart cared, no one was watching, and no one was likely to catch you...."
"... The biggest difference, police say, is simply that Targets have more staff visible in stores..."

Walmart's employee policies often have employees working part time and paying so little that they rely on welfare--taxes--to feed the family. Now the policy is to use the police to provide security so Walmart doesn't have to employ more people.

 

[jimindenver]

Not sure what you're trying to say here. Are you?

I believe I am saying the city could not afford the expansion of their police force to handle the Walmart and had to get a loan from them.

As for Lakeside, Mountain view and others, I agree that they should be absorbed.

I've notice a reduction of dwellers not just at the Walmart near me but the area too. They shut down camp GVR where 20-30 vehicles were parking long term. The Walmart has a no overnight parking sign tucked away behind the commercial trucks and I see more use of the other big box lots.

 

[USExplorer]

Most of the Walmarts in sketchy areas have security patrols in Ford Rangers with flashing yellow lights cruising the parking lot. I personally do not like to sleep in a Walmart patrolled by security, like the store in Dearborn Michigan.

I used to work overnight at a small town Walmart in NC. We had rampant shoplifiting due to a dearth of cameras (well over a hundred empty packages collected and several shoplifters busted every day), but not many other problems. The cops would hang out in the store parking lot in the early morning hours and go shopping while on duty.

In my opinion, Walmart does not generate crime, it simply attracts it. If Wally World weren't there, people would commit their petty crimes elsewhere.

 

[Headache]

I stay at truck stops and not to say that I didn't have a few issues over the years because I did, but in my experience they are safer than staying in rest areas and Walmarts.

Just my two beads worth.