Posted on 07/28/2017 11:45:19 AM PDT by Gamecock
(Note, appears to be in Wisconsin)
In the years leading up to 2014, police calls for service to retailers in Cottage Grove mainly came from two stores — Target and Kohl’s.
Walmart threw open its doors in March of that year, immediately becoming the top source of calls for service in the east metro suburb, claiming a lead that has remained firm since it opened.
“It’s become its own little city,” said Cottage Grove Public Safety Director Craig Woolery.
The statistics in Cottage Grove follow a similar trendline in other St. Croix and Mississippi River valley communities, where the retail giant serves customers and draws an often daily response from law enforcement.
When compared to Target — the next-largest big-box discount retailer in those same communities — there is a disproportionate response to Walmart stores.
According to a RiverTown Multimedia analysis of 2016 data from five cities with both stores, Walmart saw an average of 3.69 calls for service to every call at Target.
“If you have Walmart in your community, it is going to be your busiest retail grief as far as theft than any other business,” said Hastings Police Chief Bryan Schafer.
He would know. In 2016, the Hastings Walmart saw 646 calls for service compared to 109 calls of service to the Hastings Target.
The reasons for the disparity are many and often elusive, but in almost all cases, the draw on law enforcement resources is one that resounds with public safety leaders in those communities.
“Walmart is a magnet all over the country,” Schafer said.
The company responded to a previous RiverTown inquiry on Wednesday, July 27, saying no retailer is immune to crime.
“We recognize the importance of this issue at the highest levels of the company, and we are investing in people and technology to support our stores through programs like More at the Door, Restorative Justice and 3rd party security as necessary,” a Walmart spokesman said.
The high volume of calls for service to Walmart has definitely put a strain on the Police Department, Schafer said. It takes time and resources to respond to every call.
Regardless of what the officer is called for, it takes time to get to Walmart and decide if some sort of action needs to take place. Then it takes time to file a report, write a citation or make an arrest depending on the situation.
In addition, geographically, any call for service to Walmart or Target pulls police resources to the far side of town in Hastings — both stores are sited near the city’s western edge — leaving the core of the city where there might be other issues.
Keep reading for analysis of Hudson stores
Ask any police chief at a law enforcement conference and they will share the same sentiment about their community, Schafer said.
Compared to other big-box retailers in Cottage Grove, Walmart “does create a strain,” Woolery said.
“But we staff for it,” he added.
To Woodbury Public Safety Director Lee Vague, the issue is more complicated than it might appear on the surface.
Yes, Walmart requires a high call volume in his city. But to Vague, that’s a sign that staff at the Woodbury store are looking out for the community.
“We want that,” he said.
As for the corporate level, “I think Walmart still has some work to do,” he said, citing the company’s process for expediting cases for law enforcement.
What’s happening?
Conventional logic seems to suggest crime at Walmarts would primarily be shoplifting and thefts. Data shows that while theft is a leading call for service at some stores, it’s hardly the only reason law enforcement responds there.
While shoplifting and theft calls topped the list at the Hastings, Woodbury and Red Wing Walmarts, a mix of other calls for service led the list elsewhere.
Traffic-related incidents were the leading call for service in Cottage Grove, responsible for 48 of the 300 calls to Walmart there in 2016. Theft-related calls were a close second there, generating 47 calls for service.
Thefts were the fifth-leading call for service at the Hudson Walmart, with public assist calls, follow-ups, suspicious activity and traffic stops all generating more calls for service last year.
According to the data, Walmart thefts — combined with shoplifting calls — represented 39 percent of all calls in Woodbury; about 16 percent in Cottage Grove; about 8 percent in Hudson; 27 percent in Red Wing; and 31 percent in Hastings.
“It’s the gamut,” Woolery said.
Calls for service at Target stores, meanwhile, paint a different picture.
In Woodbury, where there’s a Target store on the city’s west side and a SuperTarget on the east side, 911 hang-ups (32) and public assist issues (29) topped the list. Woodbury police responded to 19 theft-related calls to both Target stores in 2016 in a year when the Woodbury Walmart produced 164 such calls.
According to the Target data, theft-related incidents represented less than 10 percent of calls in Cottage Grove; about 11 percent in Hudson; 31 percent in Red Wing; and 4 percent in Hastings.
Data going back nearly a decade shows the disparity between Walmart and Target holds true in Woodbury. According to law enforcement data, Woodbury had a total of 1,290 calls for service to retail locations between 2008 and 2012; 700 of those calls were to Walmart.
Reasons why
Walmart clearly outpaces Target in calls for service in the region, but that trend holds up nationally, too, according to a security expert.
John Roberts, president of JR Roberts Security Strategies in North Carolina, said other discount retailers “all seem to have significantly less” crime than Walmart. Roberts, who testifies around the country on security-related matters including Walmart stores, said a multitude of factors make Walmart a frequent crime magnet.
Walmart often draws customers from “impoverished” backgrounds, Roberts said, making them more likely to be victimized in crimes that occur in the store’s parking lots, for example.
While law enforcement officials struggle to identify the reason behind Walmart’s apparent allure for criminals, most point to socioeconomic factors at play.
Francis Shen, a professor in the criminal justice department at the University of Minnesota, said that in general there is a link between socioeconomic status and crime rates. A possible explanation for the high call volume at Walmart might have to do with the difference in clientele between Target and Walmart.
More from RiverTowns.net: Man charged in Pierce County with ninth OWI| Revocation sends Hudson man to prison | Fraud convict gets fine, probation
“It’s speculation,” Shen said, “but to the extent that Target is catering to customers in a higher education and socioeconomic bracket.”
While the link between socioeconomic status and crime rates could have a part in the Walmart and Target comparison, there are also other factors. Shen said the size of the store, customer traffic, corporate policy and accessibility could all play a role.
Four of the five of the Walmarts in the RiverTown Multimedia analysis are open 24 hours a day, whereas the Target retail stores are closed at least between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. Still, the volume of calls from Walmart based on Target’s hours is still significantly higher.
In Woodbury — where Walmart closes daily at 11 p.m. — the store still drew twice as many calls for service last year as both of Woodbury’s Target stores combined.
How often police respond to any given retailer is heavily dependent upon the reports officers get from security. Woodbury police lauded security at the local Walmart, though the police chief said that seems to create a paradoxical scenario.
“It would seem to me that it wouldn’t be a good place to shoplift because they have a really engaged security staff,” Vague said.
The company said that while there’s room for improvement, current security efforts are satisfactory.
“We are pleased with the asset protection program in place and are always looking for ways to get better,” a Walmart spokesman said.
He pointed to the company’s “More at the Door” program, in place in about one-third of the nation’s Walmart Supercenters, where so-called “customer hosts” are stationed near entrances. Those yellow vest-clad workers — about 9,000 of whom have been added to the stores in recent months — may check receipts and are trained to help deter shoplifting.
Schafer said that in Hastings, a night call to Walmart is sometimes a crime of opportunity.
From some of the videos I have seen I would suggest
that all Walmarts should have their own fashion
police force.
Post a cop in every Walmart - it will act as a deterrent.
Every Wal-Mart should have at least one cop on campus at all times. Paid for by them.
Actually at the Walmart just outside Ft Polk they do station two or more officers right at the door of Walmart. Sign of the times. People still shoplift or try too.
Many corporations like Walmart have learned the ropes from their politician friends to suck the public dry using crony capitalism.
For example they pay their workers crap while the taxpayers are forced to subsidize them with food stamps, ER healthcare etc. Every state is handing out billions in “redevelopment dollars” and special tax breaks as subsidies for big business. It is always big business that gets the bennies too, and never small business. Walmart uses up police services with their 24 hour a day stores. Big business is pushing for temp foreign workers to screw taxpayers too to cut wages.
Hollywood once fought piracy and copyright infringement as they should with civil suits. Now they get the FBI to do it on our dime for their lousy $5 movies and CDs etc.
Average Americans get no government help on civil cases or minor theft.
The city fathers are MORE than happy to see WalMart come into their 'burgs. All the jobs...and don't forget the B&O and other tax moneys a WalMart provides. I see no reason for the company to foot that bill.
Isn’t it illegal to possess and transport wild marine life?
Minnesota, not Wisconsin.
My local WalMart frequently has police cars parked in front for a few minutes. The cops pick up the shoplifters who have been arrested by WalMart security. Seems normal to me. Lots of shoppers bring lots of shoplifters. Home Depot has tons of petty theft as well Subscribe to crime mapping and you will see a lot of petty theft arrests at any WalMart or Home Depot.
Malls typically have security guards. Walmart should have some to if theft is such a problem.
I bet Walmart pays a “disproportionate” share of local taxes, too.
Paid for by the business.
We have two Wal-Marts near me; the “urban” one and the “rural” one. The “rural” one is where the white trash take their children to discipline them. After dark, the “urban” one is the Zombie Apocalypse.
Any fisherman knows why the police make all the runs to Wal Mart. Fishermen fish where the fish are.
In a small town, one officer is needed full time to respond to incidents at Walmart.
A magnet for what? Shoplifters? Pickpockets? Auto thieves? Sex offenders? People who dress poorly?
Walmart’s security is the door greeters. They’re not just there to say hi/bye & answer questions.
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