Concerned Walmart Shoppers
10,000 signatures reached
To: Doug McMillon, CEO of Wal-mart Stores.
End Walmart's Extortion Scams Today!
Terminate existing Walmart's Restorative Justice programs and cancel plans to install new programs. Walmart's program makes victims of people who want to avoid interacting with police, typically out of fear. Walmart makes 20% from each shoplifter they intimidate into singing a form, and their share of the profit will only increase if we don't dismantle this system of intimidation, coercion, and extortion. Act now: Tell McMillon to terminate these programs.
Why is this important?
Walmart has hired private companies like Turning Point Justice and Corrective Education Company (CEC) to implement their version of a “Restorative Justice” (RJ) program for suspected shoplifters in at least 1/3 of their U.S. stores.
Walmart’s Restorative Justice Program first involves suspected shoplifters (SS) that are identified by a private security guard in participating RJ stores and are led to a back room.
Once in the backroom, a private security guard collects information from the SS, takes their fingerprints and mugshot, and runs their information through a private database to determine their eligibility for the program. Eligibility for Walmart’s RJ Program may be based on several factors, including whether the SS is a repeat offender.
Walmart’s RJ program is presented as a choice for first-time SS to enroll in and costs $400 if paid in full immediately, and $500 if paid in installments. Additional penalty charges apply for late payments.
It appears some retailers that contract with CEC are given a cut of CEC’s fee, typically $40 per case, but there have been claims that retailers can make up to $100 per case. News sources report that suspected shoplifters have 90 days to complete the 6-8 hour computer-based program and pay all fees, or they may be sent to debt collectors.