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Sen. Casey addresses Wal-mart impacts on local communities

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Sen. Casey – Wal Marts and other box stores strain local resources. 

When you develop a property you are not entitled to unlimited or unreasonable usage (waste) of public municipal resources paid for by tax dollars.

Our Lower Mac Wal-Mart, has for years been a considerable strain on police resources. This is well documented locally. (2013 Morning Call) Wal-Mart seems to rely on police to provide basic security at considerable cost to taxpayers. While every resident and business is entitled to call police for help or to report a crime it’s obvious Wal-Mart exploits this. 

Not only do we face financial impact, but safety as well. When police are spending excessive time at one business they are taken away from other duties.

Similar issue, in 2013 we instituted a nuisance ordinance for excessive fire alarms. We did this after our Fire Dept. reported ] 30% of emergency calls from commercial users were false alarms. Same principle. While every business is entitled to fire protection, there came a point where excessive calls constituted a public nuisance. After enacting the ordinance along with corresponding fines we immediately saw a drop in false alarms. I believe if Wal-Mart had to pay for excessive call volume for totally preventable retail crimes we would see the retail giant suddenly become much more proactive with prevention.

Here is what Sen. Casey had to say in a letter penned to Wal-Mart President Doug Mcmillon. 

“I write to request that Wal-Mart conduct a review of its internal security protocol to ensure adequate security staffing and procedures at stores in Pennsylvania and around the country,” Casey wrote. “Of course, police protect and serve every member of our communities, but the significant volume of calls from Wal-Mart stores raises serious questions about whether the company’s current security infrastructure effectively deters crime without overburdening local police departments, many of which already operate on stretched budgets.”


According to the article, a Wal-Mart representative said the retailer plans to meet with Lehigh Valley elected officials and police in coming weeks to discuss security measures. I have asked to be kept informed and to be a part of this meeting if possible. I made a phone call to Sen. Casey’s office this AM.