One of the most important issues raised by citizen groups and local communities in the growing public debate about Wal-Mart is whether or not a relationship exists between Wal-Mart stores and crime. In the last few years, anecdotal news accounts of crimes at Wal-Mart stores or parking lots, coupled with statements made by law enforcement, have raised a public concern that Wal-Mart stores may be, as one court has described it, a "magnet for crime"

Good research often generates more questions than it answers. But so does poor research. A brief review of the May 1, 2006 white paper Crime and Wal-Mart- “Is Wal-Mart Safe?”: An Analysis of Official Police Incidents at Wal-Mart Stores raises many questions about the motives, methods and conclusions of its unnamed authors due to serious and avoidable flaws.