Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

NaturalHigh

(12,778 posts)
Mon Aug 22, 2016, 10:42 AM Aug 2016

Walmart’s Out-of-Control Crime Problem Is Driving Police Crazy

Darrell Ross—Officer Walmart to his colleagues in the Tulsa Police Department—operates for up to 10 hours a day out of the security office of a Walmart Supercenter in the city’s northeast corner. It’s a small, windowless space with six flatscreen monitors mounted on a pale blue cinder-block wall, and on this hot summer day, the room is packed. Four Walmart employees watch the monitors, which toggle among the dozens of cameras covering the store and parking lot, while doing paperwork and snacking on Cheez Whiz and Club Crackers. In a corner of the room, an off-duty sheriff’s officer, hired by Walmart, makes small talk with the employees.

As soon as Ross walks in the door, around 2 p.m., he’s presented with an 18-year-old who tried to leave the store with a microwave oven. Ross focuses his gaze and talks in a low voice to the young man, who just graduated from high school and plans to go into the military. He also attempts to calm the boy’s mother, who rushed to the store and is worried that her son won’t be able to enlist if he gets a criminal record. “You need to start taking responsibility for your actions,” Ross tells the teenager. “You’re a man now.” He tells the mother that because it was the boy’s first offense, he won’t be arrested—but if he messes up twice more, he’ll be charged with a felony. Ross slips a pair of reading glasses out of his bulletproof vest and writes the young man a summons to appear in court.

Before he can finish the paperwork, Walmart security employees catch another shoplifter. They bring in a middle-aged woman with big sunken eyes and pale cheeks, her hair tied in a messy bun. Employees caught her using phony gift cards. She rattles off excuses: The cards were given to her by a friend, she’s just gotten out of the hospital, she’s dehydrated. At one point she pretends to vomit into a trash can. Picking up the odor of pot, Ross takes a look in her handbag and finds marijuana roaches, along with a small scale and a pill bottle full of baggies. A computer check reveals five outstanding warrants for her arrest.

It’s not unusual for the department to send a van to transport all the criminals Ross arrests at this Walmart. The call log on the store stretches 126 pages, documenting more than 5,000 trips over the past five years. Last year police were called to the store and three other Tulsa Walmarts just under 2,000 times. By comparison, they were called to the city’s four Target stores about 300 times. Most of the calls to the northeast Supercenter were for shoplifting, but there’s no shortage of more serious crimes, including five armed robberies so far this year, a murder suspect who killed himself with a gunshot to the head in the parking lot last year, and, in 2014, a group of men who got into a parking lot shootout that killed one and seriously injured two others.

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

15 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Walmart’s Out-of-Control Crime Problem Is Driving Police Crazy (Original Post) NaturalHigh Aug 2016 OP
It must be strange living in a place where police give a flying fuck about shoplifting at WalMart. hunter Aug 2016 #1
And yet cities give walmart tax breaks and free services for them to plop a job creation black hole Ohioblue22 Aug 2016 #2
Is this Wal-Mart's fault? ghostsinthemachine Aug 2016 #3
I don't know. NaturalHigh Aug 2016 #4
They explain this in depth in the article Ruby the Liberal Aug 2016 #7
"choice of location" NaturalHigh Aug 2016 #8
Awesome....We're subsidizing their security as well. Chakaconcarne Aug 2016 #5
It says.. Nancyswidower Aug 2016 #11
The one officer is there so much that his colleagues call him "Officer Walmart." NaturalHigh Aug 2016 #12
Great article, great read Ruby the Liberal Aug 2016 #6
Meh- the criminal activities didn't increase due to Wal-Mart or another similar business Lee-Lee Aug 2016 #9
Agreed Sentath Aug 2016 #10
One day last week in Maine jpak Aug 2016 #13
In MAINE? I didn't know it got so heated up there. NaturalHigh Aug 2016 #14
Yup, I saw that. Zing Zing Zingbah Aug 2016 #15
 

Ohioblue22

(1,430 posts)
2. And yet cities give walmart tax breaks and free services for them to plop a job creation black hole
Mon Aug 22, 2016, 11:21 AM
Aug 2016

In their cities

Ruby the Liberal

(26,216 posts)
7. They explain this in depth in the article
Mon Aug 22, 2016, 12:26 PM
Aug 2016

Visibility (and lack) of employees, 24 hour stores, choice of location, etc...

It is a great read.

NaturalHigh

(12,778 posts)
8. "choice of location"
Mon Aug 22, 2016, 12:29 PM
Aug 2016

This particular Wal-Mart (Tulsa) is in a horrible part of town. I haven't been there in nearly ten years.

 

Nancyswidower

(182 posts)
11. It says..
Tue Aug 23, 2016, 11:47 AM
Aug 2016

"In a corner of the room, an off-duty sheriff’s officer, hired by Walmart, makes small talk with the employees. "

Ruby the Liberal

(26,216 posts)
6. Great article, great read
Mon Aug 22, 2016, 12:24 PM
Aug 2016

Add police resources to the list of how Walmart is draining the public coffers to subsidize private profits.

K&R

 

Lee-Lee

(6,324 posts)
9. Meh- the criminal activities didn't increase due to Wal-Mart or another similar business
Mon Aug 22, 2016, 01:58 PM
Aug 2016

What happens is that it simply concentrates the activity at one place that otherwise would have been more dispersed.

I saw it when I was a deputy and Wal-Mart came to a town that had not had one. The folks getting picked up there were the same ones that otherwise would have been arrested for similar crimes at other businesses or at the next nearest Walmart or Kmart. They didn't change behavior, just location.

And when you have any business that is high traffic in a poor area it will have more crime- Walmart in a poor area has more crime than one in a well off suburb just like two gas stations in similar areas will have varied levels of criminal activity. But I would rather see a business be willing to deal with that and the local government back them up than see them abandon those areas with no stores at all.

I saw lots and lots of stupid stuff at Walmart on calls, and the day the city annexed it, meaning the city PD had responsibility for calls instead of us, was celebrated. The city knew the call volume going in and according to them the tax revenue was enough to pay for 2 more full time officers and they figured the calls accounted for .75 of one full time officers time, so they saw it as a win.

jpak

(41,741 posts)
13. One day last week in Maine
Tue Aug 23, 2016, 11:59 AM
Aug 2016

we had a murder, a huffing-related car crash (stolen huff no less) and a standoff at 3 different Wallworlds.

and a shootout at another one the month before.

What is going on?

Zing Zing Zingbah

(6,496 posts)
15. Yup, I saw that.
Tue Aug 23, 2016, 12:03 PM
Aug 2016

I think I saw it Saturday. WGME had three different Walmart crimes has headlines on the front page. Not much crime in Maine, but seems like what little crime we have is happening at Walmart. Still pretty safe overall. I'm not worried.

Latest Discussions»General Discussion»Walmart’s Out-of-Control ...