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Gwinnett County solicitor general asks Walmart to increase police presence

Brian Whiteside wrote a letter to Walmart's CEO asking the company to hire off-duty police officers to patrol all Gwinnett Walmart stores.

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — Gwinnett County's Solicitor General, Brian Whiteside, sent a letter to Walmart's President and CEO, Doug McMillon, last Tuesday asking the company to hire off-duty police officers to provide security at all stores in Gwinnett County.

"Our city and county police forces are constantly being called out to any of the 15 Walmart stores in Gwinnett County," Whiteside said in the letter.

Whiteside provided 11Alive with a statistical report from the Lilburn Police Department. According to the report, between August 1, 2018 and July 31 2019, 70% of all shoplifting incidents occurred at the Walmart in Lilburn. 

"I'm asking for this dialogue because statistically, Walmart is one of the greatest entities of crime," he said. 

 A shoplifting suspect killed loss-prevention worker J.D. Ferguson at the same Lilburn Walmart in 2016. Ferguson and another employee were trying to stop a shoplifting suspect from stealing three televisions. 

Whiteside said that off-duty officers would be more beneficial to the safety of Walmart employees and Gwinnett County residents than the current loss-prevention workers.

"They're [loss-prevention workers] not as trained as well as police officers,"Whiteside said. 

"They also don't have the deterrent effect of certified police officers because they are well armed and well equipped."

The Chief Investigator for the Gwinnett County Solicitor General's Office Travis Gatson shares a similar opinion.

"It's very alarming and we want this place to be safe," Gatson said.

"Walmart is very important in the community and it should be safe."

Whiteside told 11Alive that he is to hoping have a Walmart's President and CEO, Doug McMillon, within the next 30 days to find a resolution to this issue. 

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