Walmart’s blue-light special is no bargain for either shoppers or taxpayers. Unlike Kmart’s iconic old promotion, the Walmart blue-light special, which is being rolled out in the Upper Valley and across the country by the end of this month, does not signal special sales for consumers but rather special treatment for law enforcement personnel.

As staff writer Anna Merriman reported in the Sunday Valley News, the chain is setting aside two prime parking spots at the front of its stores for the exclusive use of police officers, whether on or off duty. The spaces are demarcated by a sign reading, “Reserved Parking for our law enforcement partners.” The company says the idea is to strengthen ties with police — although others might characterize it as trying to curry favor.

The need to strengthen ties perhaps results from the fact that in Lebanon and Claremont, as elsewhere, Walmart stores command a disproportionate share of police resources. Police officials around the nation have long complained that Walmart stores tax law enforcement capacity through the sheer volume of calls they generate. While the vast majority of such calls involve petty theft or noncriminal matters, a fair share of violent crime also occurs at Walmart properties, as Bloomberg Businessweek and The New York Times have reported in recent years. The company maintains that it has stepped up its security efforts, but some law enforcement officials remain skeptical.

In 2019, Lebanon police responded to 251 calls from Walmart’s West Lebanon store, which was a typical year, according to Police Chief Richard Mello. He says that more calls originate from Walmart than from any other business in the city. In Claremont, the number of calls for the chain’s store off Washington Street and the immediate surrounding area was 521 last year. Both Mello and Claremont Police Chief Mark Chase say they appreciate the gesture on the part of Walmart to dedicate the parking spaces.

But it’s more than fair to ask whether Walmart, the world’s largest retailer and a multibillion-dollar corporation, is doing enough on its own behalf. It is financially capable of employing a robust security staff of its own or hiring off-duty officers to provide coverage. Whatever perks the company provides to police in return for their repeated presence at its stores do not compensate the taxpayers for the use of their hard-earned dollars to provide services that a lucrative business could provide for itself.

Moreover, the description of police as the company’s “partners” is objectionable. No private enterprise should be the partner of an agency that is duty-bound to impartially provide a public service to all. It’s certainly conceivable that in a given incident, a store employee could be in the wrong rather than a shopper accused of shoplifting. That shopper might well wonder whether she is going to get a fair shake from a police officer who is regarded as a store “partner.”

Also problematic is the decision to allow officers to use the parking spaces while they are off duty if the stated rationale is to have spaces available near the front of the store when police are summoned. Given that emergency parking is already available in fire lanes, the reserved spots seem redundant unless the real purpose is to simply make life easier for officers to do their shopping while off duty. And it doesn’t take a close observer to note that many elderly and infirm shoppers who patronize Walmart could benefit from parking close to the entrance.

Communities here and all over the country should demand that Walmart do more of its own policing, rather than engage in a publicity stunt that costs it nothing.

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