ORLANDO, Fla. – Within two months, the Walmart Supercenter off John Young Parkway and Princeton Street was the site of two shootings: Orlando police Lt. Debra Clayton was shot and killed by Markeith Loyd on Jan. 9 and a man was accused of shooting customers in the parking lot with a BB gun on Feb. 23.
New 6 reviewed all of the 2016 calls for service data involving the Princeton Street store.
The numbers broke down to at least two service calls a day, totaling 710 calls for 2016.
[Interactive: 3101 Princeton Street Walmart store calls for service in 2016]
The highest number of service calls last year were for theft. The data breaks down theft as theft by shoplifting and theft, totaling 274 calls.
There were 43 calls made for suspicious person or incident, 31, for unknown trouble, 20 for battery incidents, six for stolen cars, four for an attempted suicide, 14 for found property, one for robbery and one for carjacking.
News 6 reporter Nadeen Yanes spoke with Orlando police Chief John Mina about the volume of the calls for service, but Mina told her that this is not uncommon for a store this large.
“I don't think so. Anytime you have a big store like that a lot of people coming in there is going to be a need for police services anywhere we go,” Mina told New 6.
But stores are encouraged to hire off-duty officers, if possible.
“We always encourage stores that see that kind of population of shoppers to we encourage them to hire extra duty officers if possible,” Mina said. “We used to have extra duty officers there in the past and for whatever reason, we don’t have them there anymore. Certainly, I would recommend that to them.”
Mina told News 6 with the exception of the killing of Clayton and the BB-gun parking lot shooting there have not been many serious crimes occurring at this Walmart location.
“And hearing this twice a day on average and hearing this many calls is this something you are thinking about changing or doing differently because of that,” Yanes asked.
“I think because of that there needs to be a bigger push to have some type of either additional security on their part or extra duty officers assigned there,” Mina said.
News 6 also asked Walmart officials about the number of call of service made to this store and the option to hire off-duty officers.
“No retailer is immune to the challenge of crime. We recognize the importance of this issue at the highest levels of the company, and we are investing in people and technology to support our stores. We’re encouraged by a 35 percent reduction in calls to law enforcement agencies nationwide, on average, since we began implementing restorative justice and other crime deterrence programs. We’ll continue our outreach to law enforcement, in communities like Orlando, and across the country as part of our ongoing commitment to meet our customers’ and associates’ expectations of a safe and enjoyable shopping experience," Walmart spokesperson Ragan Dickens told News 6.
Additionally, Walmart told News 6 about the measures being put in place to deter crime, including adding customer hosts at the doors with their "More at the Door" program. The hosts are trained to help deter shoplifting.
An increase in asset protection associates have been hired and trained at the store level and the restorative justice program that offers first-time offenders an opportunity to participate in an educational course instead of prosecution.