Crime and Wal-Mart
Source: Loss Prevention Research Council
+ Crime and Wal-Mart – Is Wal-Mart Safe? (PDF; 176 KB)

One of the most important issues raised by citizen groups and local communities in the growing public debate about Wal-Mart is whether or not a relationship exists between Wal-Mart stores and crime. In the last few years, anecdotal news accounts of crimes at Wal-Mart stores or parking lots, coupled with statements made by law enforcement, have raised a public concern that Wal-Mart stores may be, as one court has described it, a “magnet for crime”.

The following study, titled “Is Wal-Mart Safe?,” is the first nationally available study to evaluate this important issue. The first phase of this study analyzes police incident reports (calls for service) associated with 551 Wal-Mart stores and provides an estimate of both the average rate of reported total incidents per store and reported “serious or violent” incidents per store (See Appendix A). This study is also the first available report that compares and contrasts the average rate of reported police incidents at “high incident” Wal-Mart stores with the average rate of reported police incidents at nearby Target stores.

The study further estimates the cost to taxpayers and local communities associated with policing Wal-Mart stores. Finally, our estimate of what it would cost for Wal-Mart to adopt roving security patrols at all stores is provided.

+ A Critical Review of: Crime and Wal-Mart- “Is Wal-Mart Safe?” (PDF; 16.5 KB)

In conclusion, the reviewed paper did not provide useful information due to its unsupported premise, poor research design, confusing data reporting, and the proclamation of conclusions that go far beyond any collected data. Despite these concerns, the study authors might consider revealing their identity, and sharing their data with other researchers to rigorously search for useful clues to enhancing protection.

This entry was posted on Friday, October 20th, 2006 at 11:09 am and is filed under Business and economics, Crime. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.