The Walmart Supercenter in Camden, S.C., is a 24/7 retail oasis in an area with few options. There are Walmarts in nearby counties, but some of them aren’t open 24 hours a day. Camden’s location—close to Lake Watertree and a nearby river with few bridges—makes it difficult for residents to go anywhere other than the sprawling complex for everything from bread to tires to electronics. And it’s a place the Camden Police Department knows well. In the first six months of 2016, 14% of the department’s police reports originated at Walmart, most for shoplifting—a figure that could be much higher if you ask the town’s police chief.
To combat crime and ease the burden on law enforcement, Walmart has begun a novel experiment: deal with shoplifters internally by meting out its own version of law and order through an initiative called “Restorative Justice.” The idea is to give some accused shoplifters, such as first-time offenders, the option of completing an online remedial program designed to deter through education, rather than jail time.
The program, which offenders must pay an undisclosed sum to take but doesn’t involve the police, employs an approach sometimes found in schools and prisons, which emphasizes rehabilitation and reconciliation between the offender and the community. Walmart spokesperson Brian Nick says the initiative is reducing police runs requiring officers to come to Walmart and “hopefully giving people a second chance.”
There are some signs of its success. The Arlington Police Department, for example, estimates that the program has reduced police calls to local Walmart stores by 40.5% from October 2015 to June 2016. But it also raises questions about whether the nation’s largest retailer should play judge and jury within its stores.
