By Joanna Putman
Police1
ATLANTA, Ga. — A Walmart in the Atlanta area is building a mini police station inside its store, Insider reports.
The move is meant to deter shoplifters, as well as provide a place for officers to do paperwork and recharge equipment.
The station will be a substation of the Atlanta Police Department. It will be built in a Walmart location that has been closed for nearly a year after shoplifters set fires in the store as a distraction.
Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said in a CNBC interview that some locations could be forced to close and prices would rise as a result of the uptick in shoplifting retail stores have experienced this year. The CNBC article also quoted Target CFO Michael Fiddelke as saying that shoplifting has jumped 50% year over year.
The Vine City Walmart is set to reopen with the new department substation in May 2024.