Walmart reportedly halts program that told shoplifters: Pay up or face police

Walmart has suspended a program that gave first-time shoplifters in about 2,000 stores a choice: either pay hundreds of dollars and have their crime forgiven, or face potential prosecution, The Wall Street Journal reports.

The retailer is one of the biggest clients of Corrective Education Co. and Turning Point Justice, according to The Wall Street Journal. Walmart made its decision to end its programs earlier this month as more local officials scrutinized the concept, according to the news outlet. The move comes after a California court ruled in August that Corrective Education's program violates the state's extortion laws.

Walmart wasn't immediately available to comment on the report to CNBC.

Shoplifting suspects at stores that use Corrective Education are shown a video describing the program and are given 72 hours to decide whether they will pay or not, according to the Journal. The program costs either $400 up front or $500 later. If they decline, the retailer may pursue "other legal rights to seek restitution and resolve this crime," the video reportedly says.

Suspects who enroll in Turning Point's program pay up to $400 or $425, of which about $50 to $75 goes to retailers in restitution to cover their time spent processing the suspect and any damage to the stolen goods, the company's founder Lohra Miller told The Wall Street Journal.

Tens of thousands of first-time shoplifting suspects have paid for Turning Point and Corrective Education's programs, executives told the Journal. Other clients include Target, Bloomingdale's, Burlington Coat Factory and Goodwill Industries.

Read the full Wall Street Journal story here.

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