An Atlanta Walmart will add a signature feature to combat retail theft: an on-site police station or mini precinct that will also serve as a shoplifter deterrent and workspace for agents.
The store is expected to open in May 2024, following a nearly year-long closure after shoplifters set the building on fire to distract attention from their thefts.
The Walmart fire was one of several arson incidents involving large retailers, such as Target and another Walmart, in Atlanta.
The unprecedented move comes after retailers lost nearly $100 billion to theft, with incidents often including violent crime.
An Atlanta Walmart will add a signature feature to combat retail theft: an on-site police station or mini precinct that will also serve as a deterrent for shoplifters and a workspace for officers .
The unprecedented move comes after retailers lost nearly $100 billion to theft, with incidents often including violent crime. CEO Doug McMillon says theft has reached unprecedented level
The store is expected to open in May 2024, following a nearly year-long closure after shoplifters set the building on fire to distract attention from their thefts (the suspect is in the photo).
Walmart alone lost $3 billion annually due to theft and shoplifting incidents.
In addition to acting as a deterrent against criminal activity, the mini police stations will serve as an area for officers to recharge their batteries and complete paperwork.
The decision follows discussions among city officials, business leaders and community members who expressed a desire for an increased police presence in the area.
Mayor Andre Dickens said Walmart will receive a $1.5 million initiative aimed at expanding access to fresh food in low-income communities, according to Rough Draft Atlanta.
Following the arson, Dickens said he “directly engaged Walmart to ensure this store reopened,” emphasizing its commitment to providing accessible and affordable items to the City of Vine’s many low-income residents .
“You’re thinking about going into this Walmart to commit a shoplifting or a robbery or whatever – you see the APD logo and you say, ‘ah, not today,'” Dickens told the community in a meeting discussing the new concept.
He reassured the population about the strengthening of the police presence in the neighborhood.
“After talking with the Merchants Association of MLK Drive and Clark University and others in the neighborhood, people were saying they wanted to see more police presence,” Mayor Andre Dickens said, according to Rough Draft Atlanta .
Walmart announced the decision to reopen the damaged store in January.
Walmart alone lost $3 billion annually due to theft and shoplifting incidents. Major retailers in the United States have been forced to close their stores due to millions of dollars in losses as widespread thefts plague big box stores across the country.
Walmart has decided to permanently close the store at 1801 Howell Mill Road in Berkeley Park — another location closed since mid-December after an arson attack.
Following the arson, Dickens said he “directly engaged Walmart to ensure this store reopened,” emphasizing its commitment to providing accessible and affordable items to the City of Vine’s many low-income residents .
Target announced it would close four stores in three cities in the coming months after losing an extraordinary $400 million profit last November to organized gangs of shoplifters.
However, the company has decided to permanently close the store at 1801 Howell Mill Road in Berkeley Park, another location closed since mid-December after an arson attack.
More than 20 other Walmart locations in the United States have closed so far this year, most due to “underperformance.”
Although the company did not say shoplifting was the cause of low performance levels, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said theft was becoming a bigger problem at stores in the United States. United — and if the problem persists, it could lead to store closures, according to CNBC. .
In recent years, more and more major retailers in the United States have been forced to close their stores due to millions of dollars in losses as widespread thefts plague big box stores across the country.
In April, Walmart announced it would close four of its Chicago stores just weeks after America’s largest employer closed its only stores in Portland.
Target announced it would close four stores in three cities in the coming months after losing an extraordinary $400 million profit last November to organized gangs of shoplifters.
This comes as shoplifting reaches alarming levels and other major retailers, including Target, Macy’s and Best Buy, are now making good on their threats to close their stores if petty crime does not decrease.
In 2021, retailers lost a total of $94.5 billion to shrinkage, a term used to describe theft and other types of inventory loss. And incidents of organized retail crime soared 26.5% that same year, according to the 2022 National Retail Security Survey.
Alongside brazen daylight thefts, self-checkouts have also made it easier for people to walk out without paying for their items.
Progressive prosecutors in cities like Chicago, New York, Portland and California have also been accused of legalizing shoplifting, either by not prosecuting thefts under $950 or by letting criminals get away with it. pull with a simple tap of the fingers.
