From privateofficerbreakingnews:
STAPLETON, Colo. July 20 2018— Shoplifting, car break-ins, even strong-armed robberies. Not exactly what you expect when you head to Walmart.
But that's exactly what shoppers have come to expect at the Walmart in Stapleton in recent years. So much so that Denver City Council is considering renewing a contract to provide police protection at that store, which is something Walmart has agreed to pay for through reimbursement to the city.
IFPO July Special: 30% off all textbooks on our website!
This Walmart location off Smith Road was one of the worst in the nation for crime, Denver police said.
A few years ago, it ranked in the top five percent of Walmarts nationwide for shoplifting, according to The Denver Post.
Walmart management said some of the most commonly stolen items include cosmetics, razors, meat and baby formula.
But, the crime wave goes beyond shoplifting. A 70-year-old woman was attacked in the parking lot after she had just cashed a tax check worth more than $4,000.
Another woman, Star Lacrue, had her car broken into last year in the parking lot and someone stole her 10-month-old baby's oxygen machine.
Membership has its privileges! JOIN the IFPO and see the benefits!
"He has apnea. So, when you fall asleep, you stop breathing," she said. "Right now, you can tell he's OK. But, when he's sleeping, everything gets scary."
Theft has decreased at the location since Walmart agreed to hire off-duty Denver cops, said Lt. Bob Wyckoff with the Denver Police Department.
The city says the current contract pays the city about $285,000 per year to ensure cops patrol the store seven days a week.
The store was, by a long shot, the worst in the city for shoplifting with 283 reported cases in one year alone, according to the Denver Post. That's 179 more than the second-highest shoplifting location in the city for that year, the Rite Aid on the 16th Street Mall.
The Stapleton Walmart reported to police that it loses $1.5 million each year to theft.
