Wal-Mart Gives Shoplifters a Slap on the Hand, Not Handcuffs

By Mark Hoerrner

It’s a new day for Wal-Mart, which identifies itself as the world’s largest discount retailer. Thieves can now rest assured that if they lift a copy of Yanni’s Greatest Hits on CD, they’ll likely not face prosecution. Swipe the box set, however, and the trademark happy face icon of Wal-Mart may not smile so widely, thanks to a shift in shoplifting policy.

"If I have somebody being paid $12 an hour processing a $5 theft, I have just lost money," said J.P. Suarez, Wal-Mart’s top executive for asset protection, in an interview with the New York Times. "I have also lost the time to catch somebody stealing $100 or an organized group stealing $3,000."

The previous policy supported prosecuting anyone who had stolen at least $3 worth of merchandise, but company representatives said that each store had autonomy in dealing with each individual prosecution. It will also only prosecute individuals between 18 and 64 years of age, according to a company statement. When caught, the company employs a sophisticated database to catalog offenders. If caught a second time, or if a shoplifter becomes unruly or violent, Wal-Mart representatives say the company will likely prosecute.

Wal-Mart posted revenues of over $312 billion for it’s 2005-06 fiscal year, which ended Jan. 31, 2006. The National Association for Shoplifting Prevention estimates that shoplifting accounts for retail losses in excess of $25 million per day in the U.S. In 2001, a University of Florida study on Wal-Mart’s annual losses pinpointed a financial hemorrhage of nearly 10 percent, or over $31 billion. Approximately $10 billion of that was listed as losses due to shoplifting. The remaining $21 billion was due to employee theft, theft by vendors or administrative errors, the study said.

The New York Times said that the change addresses a growing number of complaints from small-town police departments across the country that have protested the previous zero-tolerance policy. To deal with the call volume at some stores where police might answer up to six calls a day, some police agencies have had to hire additional officers.

In Panama City, Fla., the Bay County Sheriff’s Department has had to answer nearly 100 calls at a single store in Callaway, Fla., in just the past year, according to the Panama City News Herald. Bay County encompasses Panama City proper and Panama City Beach, though both of these municipalities also employ police departments. The volume is likely much higher at the Panama City Beach Wal-Mart location.