Did you ever read that Wal-Mart raises the crime rate, and that police budgets must swell to meet their needs? I've seen no solid evidence that this happens, although of course a WM will require more police resources than barren land. And anecdotally, crime rates have dropped as the number of Wal-Mart stores has skyrocketed.
I had thought that Wal-Mart might be redistributing crime to nearby areas, but police groups in Napa don't agree:
"Even with all the new home construction in the immediate area (near Wal-Mart) there's really not anything I can come up with that is a problem," Stockton Police Lt. Ron Stansbury said. "There just isn't anything there."Still, Wal-Mart's hard-line prosecution of shoplifters does take more police resources than other stores. But that a benefit as well as a cost...While robberies, murders and gang activity in Stockton push the city's crime rate above the national average, there have been no serious crimes reported at the Wal-Mart Supercenter since it opened last year. Police agencies that monitor retail-only Wal-Marts in Napa and Vallejo also say there is little to buttress the argument that Wal-Mart attracts crime or gangs, despite opponents' fears.
"As far as Wal-Mart goes there's nothing that jumps out at us as far as the number of calls for service. It's about par with any other business that size," Napa Police Cmdr. Steve Potter said....
Vallejo Police Lt. Lori Lee said the Wal-Mart near the city's border with American Canyon is a relatively safe place to be.
"I can say with some level of confidence that our Wal-Mart is not a nuisance," she said. "And probably with our community it's not any different than with the Kmart or Target."
Posted by Kevin on June, 7 2005 at 09:39 AM
