OHIO – You may notice something a bit different next time you visit a Walmart in Circleville or Chillicothe, as you walk into the store you will be greeted by gates.
How do these gates work? They will be positioned at the front of the store where the Walmart greeter normally stands and they will allow people in but not people out though the same way. The gates will force customers and suspected thieves to go through check out counters to leave the store.
Regularly in police reports we read that individuals that grab items and run out the door. Three weeks ago at the Circleville Walmart, a man ran out the door with a brand-new printer jumped in a get-away car and drove off. Police that were in the area were still not able to catch the thieves, andhis isn’t the first time this has happened either this month. Chillicothe has a very similar situation with theft.
Walmart says the new system has cost the company a half of a billion dollars, and part of the new anti-theft measures improvements to the stores.
Walmart says they will roll out 1,300 new gates in 2019 according to a press release. Along with these improvements they are also investing in new smart camera technology for every isle that shrinkage is high. There is even a possibility that Walmart will install artificial intelligence into the camera systems to track movements and determine when customers “actions are” suspicious in nature.
