Residents in Lodi, California worry that a proposed Wal-Mart supercenter will bring more crime to their community, and according to an analysis by the Lodi News-Sentinel, the statistics confirm reasons for concern. Lodi’s existing Wal-Mart discount store has about four times the number of calls for police service than does the Target across the street. Lodi Police Capt. David Main told the News, “If you have a location where you’re going to have a great volume of people, you’re going to have more incidents. As the city’s growing in that direction, we’re going to need more patrol officers.” Two years ago in July, the Lodi Wal-Mart parking lot was the scene of the city’s first and only double homicide — a crime that has never been solved. Two men who were sleeping in a car in the parking lot overnight, were shot as they slept. Two other suspects in another double homicide east of the city limits worked together at Wal-Mart. The News-Sentinel found that in the past year, Lodi’s Wal-Mart had 507 calls for police service, while the Target across the street had only 123 calls. Across town, Big Kmart only had 198 calls. Shoplifting and theft cases made up 33% of the calls at Wal-Mart, and only 12% of the calls at Kmart. In a one-year period, 15 vehicles were stolen at Wal-Mart, or 3% of the total calls for police service. At Kmart, four vehicles were stolen, or 2% of the calls. Some of the car theft activity at Wal-Mart is related to the fact that the retailer allows residents to park their cars in their lot with a For Sale sign on the car. At least three of the cars taken from Wal-Mart were parked where vehicle owners leave them for days at a time. The planned Wal-Mart Supercenter would “result in an increased demand for police services,” according to an environmental impact report made for the developers by Rancho Cordova-based consultants. A group called the Small City Preservation Committee is lobbying against the proposed Supercenter, and says that sprawl and loss of community character are other concerns they have, along with the potential increase in crime. “Obviously, that’s a concern for the citizens,” a spokesperson said. It costs Lodi taxpayers $34 an hour for a police officer, counting salary and fringe benefits. The Lodi News-Sentinel estimated that the 507 calls to Wal-Mart cost taxpayers $17,000. But that figure is only for direct police work, and does not count administrative overhead by the city, court costs, and other collateral financial impacts. If two cops go out on a call, which is often the case, the cost would be double that.
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