Pharmacists learn about crime prevention during Protect Your Pharmacy Week

Security experts and others offered their advice to community pharmacists during Protect Your Pharmacy Week that was held April 16-20.

Sponsored by the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA), Purdue Pharma (the creator of RxPATROL), and partners, the week featured blogs on pharmacy safety and security and a webinar on internal theft and diversion.

In addition, NCPA called for volunteer video nominations for the Protect Your Pharmacy Now/RxPATROL Pharmacy Safety and Security video. The training videos feature various NCPA members offering real-life examples, tips, and suggestions on pharmacy theft, primarily regarding robberies and burglaries. This year’s video will be unveiled at NCPA’s Annual Convention and Trade Expo in San Diego, Calif., October 13-17.

The Protect Your Pharmacy training and week-long events are necessary because community pharmacies have experienced an 82% increase in robberies over the last 5 years, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration. RxPATROL has tracked more than 3,700 pharmacy robberies and burglaries, along with 1,853 cases of fraud, 119 cargo thefts, and other crimes, since its inception.

Among the advice offered by security experts during Protect Your Pharmacy Week is for retailers to invest in “unorthodox” security technology. “Security fog, criminal-tagging DNA sprays, face recognition, video analytics, and other cutting-edge technologies further reinforce the better-go-somewhere-else theme. The less [criminals] have heard of it, the more they will be afraid of it,” wrote Alfredo Arias, executive vice president of FlashFog Security, a guest author on NCPA’s blog, “The Dose – The Voice of the Community Pharmacist.”