Between Jan. 1 and Oct. 19 of this year, there were 627
incidents at Wal-Mart reported to police — an average of 2.28 a day —
with the majority being larcenies, but also complaints of shoplifting,
fraud, harassment and vandalism.
City wants Wal-Mart
to get tough on crime
Gena Smith
Staff writer
LUMBERTON — Wal-Mart, the nation's No. 1 retailer, is known for its
low prices and variety of items, which range from HD televisions, to
DVDs, to Budweiser and rib-eye steaks.
But the store in Lumberton is gaining another reputation — one that
could keep shoppers away, or at least make them wary. Since 2002,
there have been about 3,000 calls for help because of incidents at
Wal-Mart.
Bruce Davis, on the brink of leaving the City Council after 20 years
of serving as the Precinct 1 councilman, investigated when a Lumberton
woman who had been assaulted in broad daylight complained. He ended up
with an inch-thick collection of police reports on incidents from both
inside the Wal-Mart and outside, in its parking lot, that were filed
between Jan. 1 and Oct. 19 of this year. There were 627 incidents
reported during that time — an average of 2.28 a day — with the
majority being larcenies, but also complaints of shoplifting, fraud,
harassment and vandalism.
"What prompted this effort on my part is a friend of mine's wife was
mugged at Wal-Mart 3:30 on a Sunday afternoon," Davis said. "She
parked three spaces from the front door in the handicap section, and
that's what got me involved ... I had no idea — and I suspect the
public does not — that there are this many incidents at Wal-Mart."
Davis suggested that incidents are increasing as Christmas approaches,
saying he was told by a police officer that there were seven reported
recently during a single day.
Davis' bundle didn't include Kathy Boudreau's reported incident, which
happened on Nov. 19. The mother of five said her purse, which
contained her wallet, checkbook and cell phone, was taken by force as
she walked in the parking lot.
Boudreau is frustrated by police and Wal-Mart. She said the store's
security camera did not adequately identify the assailant's vehicle.
"I feel like something is just not right there," said Boudreau, who
lives in St. Pauls. "I just don't get it ... I just feel like (the
police) really didn't do their job because they weren't wanting to
deal with it ... people are being deceived."
Boudreau said police did nothing even after her service provider gave
them phone numbers made from her cell phone.
She also complained about inadequate security.
"Never do I ever see security people in the parking lot at Wal-Mart,"
Boudreau said. "I don't even want to go there anymore ... ."
Wal-Mart's plea
In April, John Hendren, the manager at Wal-Mart, acknowledged a
problem publicly when he asked the City Council to allow off-duty
police officers to provide weekend security, from 7 p.m. Friday to 7
a.m. Saturday and 7 p.m. Saturday to 7 a.m. Sunday. Hendren proposed
that Wal-Mart pay the officers, but wanted the city to cover health
insurance, disability compensation and liability insurance.
The City Council said no, citing liability concerns related to putting
a police officer on private property.
Lumberton police do patrol the parking lot, but Chief Police Mike
McNeill could not give specifics on how often an officer drives
through the parking lot.
According to the 911 records, from June 2002 to June 2007, there were
2,935 calls made from Wal-Mart.
"We were concerned with it, but not until a lawsuit came up did we
start generating the report — we didn't realize there were this many,"
Communications Chief Mitchell Pate said.
The number of incidents is expected to increase as Christmas shoppers
seek bargains at the store. They will be carrying cash and gifts.
"We are going to beef up patrol a little bit more during the holiday
season," said McNeill, who seemed reluctant to classify Wal-Mart as a
high-crime area.
"It's just like all over the city — it's not just one place that's a
real high crime area," he said. "You would think that with as many
people are going in and out of Wal-Mart it wouldn't be an easy prey
for targeting people there."
McNeill said he has recommended that Wal-Mart increase the lighting in
the parking lot and hire security officers to patrol the parking lot.
Local Wal-Mart officials referred questions to their corporate office
in Bentonville, Ark. A corporate spokesperson there, Jami Lamontagne,
asked that The Robesonian provide a list of questions and she e-mailed
the responses.
The questions were specific, including the number of security cameras
and security guards, but Lamontagne's response was vague: "We've
recently added additional cameras throughout the store. Also, we're in
the process of installing additional lighting in the parking lot. We
have full-time security associates employed by Wal-Mart. Also, we have
a third party security group that works in the store on a regular
basis."
Davis is adamant that the problem is Wal-Mart's to fix, not the city's.
"We've had a number of businesses approach the city about providing
security for them," Davis said. "The city does not provide security
for private businesses ... because you would be operating on private
property which creates a lot of legal issues for the city and it also
puts us in a situation of immense liability."
City officials worry about the snowball effect of helping one private
business and not others.
"If you look around town, you'll see businesses with security and they
provide that by hiring part-time police officers off duty ..., Davis
said. "I should think that Wal-Mart would provide some parking lot
security as grocery stores do."
Davis believes broadcasting the problem could force Wal-Mart's hand.
"I think that the only action I can take is to bring it to The
Robesonian and let the public know," he said. "If the public
understands, there will be more action taken."
