Dive Brief:
- Tops Friendly Markets announced it will host a ribbon cutting Wednesday for a police substation at its store in Niagara Falls, New York.
- Tops said the law enforcement facility will give police a place to complete paper or computer work, recharge equipment and engage with community members.
- The grocer’s decision to include an in-store police facility follows a similar move by Walmart as retailers look for ways to reduce shrink due to theft.
Dive Insight:
Tops said its decision to have an in-store police station aims to “increase visibility in the community and enhance outreach” for law enforcement.
The substation at the store at 1000 Portage Road stems from a collaboration between the grocery chain, the Niagara Falls and the city’s police department. Mayor Robert Restaino said in a statement that city officials and Tops started talking last year about “enhancing the shopper experience” at the local store.
“We suggested the placement of a police substation on site and after consideration, Tops agreed that it would be a great addition,” Restaino said.
The substation, which will be located inside the front of the store, will not be manned 24/7 but does not replace Tops’ existing security efforts, according to the grocery chain.
Tops, which has more than 140 grocery stores in New York, Pennsylvania and Vermont, did not say if it plans to add police substations to its other locations.
Last summer, local news reports said that Walmart plans to reopen its Vine City Supercenter in Atlanta this May following converting the location to a Neighborhood Market with the addition of an Atlanta Police Department substation. That store temporarily closed in 2022 after a fire.
The police substations come at a time when concerns about theft and organized retail crime have heightened in the retail industry. Safeway, for example, has recently rolled out receipt-scanning gates at selected locations in the San Francisco and Washington, D.C., areas as part of “long-planned security improvements” aimed at preventing theft
