Ontario pharmacists look to time-delayed safes to protect against robberies

Pharmacists in Waterloo region are thinking of ways to better protect their inventory as pharmacy theft continues to trend upward across Ontario.

In Waterloo region, police said there have been 18 pharmacy robberies so far in 2022 — a 157 per cent increase in two years. In 2021 there were 11 pharmacy robberies. 

A majority of the prescription drugs stolen across the province are highly addictive opioid painkillers that end up on the street, according to Health Canada data.

That has the Ontario College of Pharmacists' (OCP) considering the use of mandatory time-delayed safes in all community pharmacies. The college is the registering and regulating body for pharmacists in Ontario.

According to a report being reviewed by the college's board of directors, Waterloo region is part of a province-wide trend: Toronto Police Services reported a 106 per cent yearly increase in pharmacy robberies while Peel Regional Police Services reported a 430 per cent yearly increase over 2021.

Installed in other provinces 

Wasem Alsabbagh, a pharmacist and assistant professor at the University of Waterloo's school of pharmacy, said time-delay safes have been very successful in other parts of the country.

"For example, in B.C., it was implemented since 2015 and it was associated with a reduction of more than 60 per cent of pharmacy robberies in B.C.," he said. "In Alberta, it was implemented in July of this year. Early results from Calgary showed a reduction of at least 50 per cent."

They will also be in use in Saskatchewan in 2023 and wherever they're used, the data seems to show the safes have been effective in deterring theft, said Alsabbagh.

"It looks like perpetrators who plan the robberies want to be in and out as fast as possible. So when they read the signage that there's a time-delayed safe, they simply don't do the act and leave right away," said Alsabbagh.

Alsabbagh added while time-delay safes are effective at preventing theft, an attempted robbery can still leave pharmacy staff traumatized.

"Staff told me they needed several days just to simply be OK with going back to the pharmacy and start to work again," he said, recalling conversations with staff who had been at the centre of a pharmacy robbery. "This experience will live with them forever. This will affect the availability of services to patients, affecting patient care in general."

Alsabbagh said people must take extra care to be aware of their surroundings while leaving a pharmacy with their prescriptions.

Concern about processing delays

In a news release, the college said it is currently working with the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police (OACP) to "identify and implement practical crime prevention strategies and there is growing interest in the use of time-delayed safes as part of this broader focus."

The college did also note some pharmacists were unsure about adopting the safes, concerned about the processing delays they could cause. 

At the end of November, Shoppers Drug Mart announced it would be installing time-delayed narcotic safes in all Ontario pharmacies owned by its parent company, Loblaws. In doing so, the company pointed to the rise in pharmacy robberies in 2022.