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Is Walmart Safe?

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Is Walmart Safe?
Is Walmart Safe?
The Effects of Established Supercenter Walmarts to Property Crime Rates within Dekalb and Gwinnett County from 1999-2010

Class: Economics & Finance Modeling
Professor: Doctor Derek Tittle

Dream Team Group Members:
Alexandra E Steingaszner
Brian-Paul Gude
Kristopher Bryant
Norman Gyamfi
Samantha Gowdy

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Disclaimer
This report has been created in the framework of a student group project and the Georgia Institute of Technology does not officially sanction its content.

Executive Summary
Every year, Walmart is accused of increasing crime in areas within which it builds Walmart Supercenters. Yet, research and data analyses largely disprove these claims, as they reveal that other factors such as unemployment rates and population appear to contribute more to an increase in crime rates rather than the construction of Walmart stores. The software Minitab is used to analyze linear regression with the inputs population, demographics, high school graduation rates, unemployment rates, median household income, and the number of Walmart Supercenters and the output property crime rate. The overall purpose of the analysis was to reveal the relationship(s), but not causation, between these inputs and property crime rates. Ultimately, this analysis reveals no definite relationship between the number of Walmart Supercenters and property crime in the years 1999 to 2010 in Dekalb and Gwinnett County.
Background
One of the most significant issues concerning Walmart in communities is the existence of a relationship between the presence of a Walmart and local crime rates. In past years, these concerns have been voiced by local residents and public law enforcement. Justice Starcher, a member of the West Virginia Supreme Court, states that “a quick review of reported cases reveals that Walmart parking lots are a virtual magnet for crime” and Chief John Slauch of the West Sadsbury Township Police Department “saw a significant increase in crime and


Cited: "Crime and Wal-Mart — “Is Wal-Mart Safe?”." UFCW Local 770. WakeUpWalMart.com, 2006.Web. 14 Jun 2012. <http://www.ufcw770.org/>. "Georgia Crime Rates 1960-2010." Fbi uniform crime report. disastercenter.com, 2010. Web. 14 Jun 2012. <http://www.disastercenter.com/crime/gacrime.htm>. Hennagir, Tim. "Citizen group speaks out against Walmart project ." ABC Newspapers.com. N.p., 2011. Web. 14 Jun 2012. <http://abcnewspapers.com/2011/11/22/citizen-group speaks-out-against-walmart-project/>. "Wal-Mart the Crime Magnet:." ReclaimDemocracy.org. Associated Press, 2004. Web. 14 Jun 2012. <http://reclaimdemocracy.org/walmart/crime_increase.html>.
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