TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – Local union representatives and community supporters plan to blast retail giant Walmart, claiming the company asks for too much police assistance to deal with petty crime at its Tampa-area stores.
West Central Florida Labor Council and Making Change at Walmart held a press conference Thursday morning.
Organizers want Walmart to devote more resources to security.
In one year alone, the groups claim nearly 17,000 calls were placed to emergency services from Tampa-area Walmart stores. That’s two calls every hour of every day, the groups say in the advertisement.
The groups believe that ties up important resources that could be used more efficiently in the community.
New Channel 8 reached out to Walmart about the issue several months ago, the retail giant said:
We are pleased with the progress we have seen in reducing crime in our stores in the Tampa area and we are continuing to invest in crime prevention efforts while also working closely with law enforcement, security professionals, and community leaders. As we’ve said before, we’ve introduced the More at the Door program, which bolsters a presence at the front of the store, and our Tampa stores participate in Restorative Justice, a program for first time offenders.”
