Big Box Stores Attract Frequent Police Response

With a rise in burglaries and drug arrests, the township also has seen an increase in police responses to big box stores with a total of 1,579 for just , , and since 2009.

“I still think that the big boxes have all impacted positively on the township,” Mayor Mark Dykoff said. “You have to look at the convenience it brings to the residents.”

Many weekly police incident reports have been dominated by shoplifting calls made to Walmart. But the 1,579 police calls include everything from traffic accidents, motor vehicle stops and municipal ordinance violations to criminal mischief, juvenile problems, suspicious motor vehicles, theft and fraud.

Dykoff agreed that the police department has been negatively impacted but couldn’t say whether it was exorbitant.

“You can’t really say 1,000 is a lot because you don’t know what is shoplifting,” he said. “Any crime is unacceptable so it’s hard to say.”

Even though the police calls are of a wide variety, police must respond, he said. “You can’t put a value on those calls.”

But in the last three years, reports show that police responded to 170 shoplifting calls; 131 of those calls were made to Walmart, which opened in 2009.

The four big box stores may have required a continuing police presence, but they paid a total of $874,156.94 in taxes to the township, schools and county in 2011 alone.

“That’s pretty bad,” Walmart customer Jason Torre said of the police calls and the return in taxes. “I don’t come here often but that’s like nothing.”

But the township stopped saying the word “only” long ago as far as paid taxes, Dykoff said.

“Any bit of tax revenue we can get from these amenities is a benefit to the township,” he said. “The convenience benefit outreaches the cost.”

The reasons big boxes were encouraged to come to Lacey were tax revenue and convenience, Dykoff said.

“I think we’ve achieved that,” he said. “Hopefully the (crimes) will decrease as the economy gets better.”

The big box stores have the right to station themselves in Lacey, Mr. and Mrs. Berry of Bayville said. “They pay their taxes like anyone else.”

The couple hopes the police presence will send a message that shoplifting is unacceptable, they said.

“At least they’re being productive,” Mrs. Berry said. “I think there’s a need for it to be staffed appropriately.”

Walmart, in particular, has Asset Protection Teams stationed at some of its stores, including Lanoka Harbor. Three employees at the Lacey Walmart were hired to specifically detect and deter shoplifters, spokesperson Dianna Gee said.

The protection team's vigilance against shoplifters helps drive thefts down, Gee said. Once shoplifters are identified by Walmart security, they’re less likely to commit the crime again.

“We’re very successful in identifying people who break the law and steal from our stores,” she said, crediting a solid partnership with local law enforcement.

Nationwide, over 140 million people walk through Walmart stores weekly, Gee said.

“You’re seeing a lot of customers who come through,” she said. “Unfortunately there are going to be individual incidents.”

Joe Lewninski, an Ocean County resident since 1972, believes the economy plays a large role.

“There’s more thefts because there’s no work,” he said. “No matter what big store, you’re going to have someone trying to rip them off… It’s not going to get any better.”

The problem is throughout the town, not just big box stores, a Walmart customer and 15-year Lacey resident who asked to remain anonymous said.

“It’s the people, not the place. I don’t think this is a high crime town,” she said. “If they can get a control of their teenagers, there won’t be as many problems here."

Police Chief William Nally declined to comment.