Manitoba pharmacies’ move to time-delayed safes ‘proactive’

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This article was published 13/06/2024 (545 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitoba pharmacies are now required to keep their narcotics in time-delayed safes, in a bid to prevent crime.

“It’s … a proactive measure,” said Rani Chatterjee-Mehta, College of Pharmacists of Manitoba’s deputy registrar.

Pharmacies previously kept narcotics and controlled drugs in safes. The new rule, implemented earlier this year, means the vaults must be equipped with a locking mechanism preventing access to their contents until users have entered the correct combination and waited a pre-set amount of time.

The college’s mandate affects Manitoba’s 474 community pharmacies, or pharmacies not in a hospital or clinic but still serving the public. It comes after similar implementation in four other provinces: British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and, most recently, Ontario.

“With (those) in place, it just (made) Manitoba a more attractive target, specifically for targeted robberies of community pharmacies,” Chatterjee-Mehta said Thursday.

Crime rates have decreased in the other provinces. In April, Toronto police announced a sharp drop in pharmacy robberies: just 10 within 2024’s first four months, compared to 60 during the same timeframe in 2023. Ontario introduced time-delayed safes in 2023.

A year earlier, Alberta implemented the rule. As of September 2023, just three pharmacy robberies had been reported in Calgary, a steep decline from 58 in 2022 and 89 in 2021.

Robbery rates in Manitoba pharmacies are typically lower than neighbouring provinces, Chatterjee-Mehta relayed.

Neither 2023 nor this year have elicited successful robberies, but there have been attempts; there’s theft within pharmacies but it occurs outside of company safes, she added.

The Manitoba governing body implemented the new security measure Jan. 31. It publicized the change this week because it wanted to give businesses time to update their security, Chatterjee-Mehta said.

Community pharmacies must advertise their security systems to notify customers and discourage illegal activity.

The new safes will not hinder patients’ access to medication, Chatterjee-Mehta highlighted.

Time pre-set on safes’ timers are managed by pharmacies, she noted.

The Winnipeg Police Service doesn’t track monthly pharmacy theft counts nor whether time-delayed safes have made a difference.

However, law enforcement has shown its support. In a June news release, city police applauded pharmacies for taking a “leading role” in harm reduction by mitigating the risk stolen medication contributes to the opioid crisis.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com