Pharmacy Security

Preventing Retail Theft

by Bruce Kneeland

Originally published in the September/October 2009 issue of ComputerTalk – www.computertalk.com – Computer Talk – Store Security-Oct. 2009

By being prepared and making a few modest investments in technology you can help the authorities catch the criminals, and perhaps even more importantly, keep those criminals from targeting your pharmacy in the first place.

Dave Russo owns Russo’s Pharmacy in Hagerstown, Md. I visited this apothecary-type pharmacy a few months ago, and within a few minutes I noticed the safe. Russo’s safe is big — measuring 3 ft. by 3 ft. by 5 ft. and weighing more than a thousand pounds. When I asked about it, I learned that Russo specializes in pain management and also supports a county drug rehabilitation program. He stocks a number of medications with street appeal and feels the safe is one way to prevent burglaries.

But burglaries are only one kind of store security issue. Robbery is another, and Russo told me that a few weeks previous to my visit he was working with his technician, helping two customers, when a car parked right in front of the door. Two men jumped out wearing ski masks, gloves, and loose-fitting jackets and barged in flashing pistols. They told everyone to lie down; they then put a gun to Russo’s head and marched him to the safe, took an assortment of controlled substances, and were gone in what Russo describes as “the longest minute in recorded history.”

Two months prior to the robbery, Russo had installed a three-camera video system that came with what the company touted as a state-of-the-art recording device. When the police arrived, Russo proudly showed them the system, and they took the chip from his recorder back to the station. He then came face to face with a compatibility issue, as the police department was unable to read the chip. It took them more than a week to find a way to view the video, and by then the perpetrators where long gone.

Three Major Kinds of Theft

Retail theft can be divided into three categories: shoplifting (internal and external), robbery, and burglary. Shoplifting is a stealth crime where the culprit strives to remove valuables without being detected. Robbery is overt — the perpetrator attempts to get what is wanted and avoid capture by threat of violence. Burglary is a crime committed when the store is closed; the thief will strive to enter and depart before anyone can arrive and prevent the theft.

According to Richard Zenuch, a former law enforcement agent and now director of law enforcement liaison and education for Purdue Pharma, drugstores can best prevent all these types of theft by implementing a three-tiered defense: personnel training, proper structural preparation, and the appropriate use of technology.

Personnel Training

Pharmacy managers need to make sure all employees are trained on how to handle shoplifting, robberies, and burglaries. Polices and procedure will vary according to your philosophy, your experience, the type of pharmacy you operate, and the demographics of your specific location. But you need to make sure your employees know how to respond to all three types of theft and then role-play and practice how to deal with each type. This includes things like proper cash register technique, being alert to suspicious activity, not resisting robbers, listening for accents and other unique phraseology, noticing as many body characteristics as possible, getting a description of their vehicle, and making sure that as little as possible is touched or disturbed at the crime scene.

Now, lest images of having a pharmacy in a Norman Rockwell-type community cloud your vision of the need to prepare, let me tell you about David Lutz. Lutz is the owner of Rhoades Pharmacy in Hummelstown, Pa. Hummelstown is an upscale community near Harrisburg, the state’s capital, and its main retail business street; even during the height of the recession, it’s bustling.

In addition to filling 200 or more prescriptions a day, Lutz sells a lot of gifts and home décor items, supports a successful wedding registry service, and has a busy Hallmark department. To protect all this he has installed an elaborate security system with 32 digital video cameras and 16 monitors showing activity at each checkout counter, various areas of the store, and the parking lot. None of that surprised me, since the store has so many items that might tempt a shoplifter or even an employee. What did surprise me was the policy he put in place that requires all employees who leave the store after dark to go to their cars in groups. One person in each group must carry one of the stores eight panic buttons.

I asked Lutz why he took such precautions when his neighborhood clearly appeared to be safe. He said, “Have you ever noticed that when the media covers some horrific crime, when they interview the assailant’s neighbors they say “He was such a nice guy, I never would have expected anything like this”? Clearly, Lutz understands the importance of taking precautions and preparing for the worst — the key element in any effective drugstore security policy.

Structural Preparation

According to Purdue’s Zenuch, a few simple things on the outside of a store can prevent a number of problems. He specifically mentions making sure shrubs and bushes are cut back to make it hard for assailants to gain entrance without being seen. And he strongly suggests that a store’s windows be kept as clear as possible of merchandise or excessive signage so that police or security officers on patrol can easily see into the store — both during and after normal operating hours. “Visibility is a major deterrent” he says.

Zenuch also says it is important to think about all vulnerable access points. Good door locks are common, but drugstore managers often fail to think about securing roof access, knowing how to protect shared interior walls, and adequately inspecting HVAC duct work and ceiling fan access to the store.

Through Rx Patrol, its collaborative effort with NCPA and various law enforcement agencies, Purdue supports a Web site with crime prevention tips and a store security checklist. And through a relationship with Crime Stoppers, the program even provides consumers with cash awards for providing tips that help to solve drugstore crimes. The site can be accessed at www.rxpatrol.org.

Suggestions from pharmacy managers and others in the industry for low-tech solutions to theft deterrence run the gamut — from making sure to do background checks on employees, arranging customer aisles so that more lanes are visible from the pharmacy and the checkout area, lowering shelving to allow for greater visibility, to placing security mirrors in corners and other strategic locations so that merchandise can be seen.

Zenuch also advises limiting access to and keeping careful track of all keys. Having a good relationship with a locksmith and stamping keys with “Do not duplicate” helps ensure that keys do not multiply and scatter.

Parking lots are a problem for many drugstore owners because they are typically controlled by the landlord, but doing what you can to ensure they are well lit is important. Finally, finding ways to be friendly toward local police and emergency personnel can pay off. Having uniformed law enforcement personnel frequently stop in for a visit or even do their personal shopping in your pharmacy can benefit your store in many ways.

Key Fobs and Foggers

Rhoades pharmacy owner Lutz told me that he has purposely positioned his previously mentioned 32 video cameras and 16 monitors so that everyone sees themselves on the monitor when they enter any of his three entrances. This, combined with monitors showing activity throughout the store, adds to the deterrent effect. And he says that his employees know they are being watched at the cash register and that this helps them avoid the temptation to offer “sweetheart” deals to friends.

Jayson Sutton, national account manager for an international security and loss prevention company, Checkpoint, says his company provides a number of technological solutions. Checkpoint’s loss prevention systems range from electronic article surveillance (EAS) systems common in department stores to monitored burglar, smoke, and fire alarms; closed-circuit TV; and even specially adapted radio frequency identification (RFID) tags. Sutton says these tags are embedded in the label of several high-value pharmaceuticals. The RFID tags, according to Sutton, are proving valuable in detecting employee theft, an area of major concern to many drug chains.

You’ll recall that earlier I mentioned taking precautions in deciding which employees have keys. Don Grove, owner of J & D Pharmacy in Warsaw, Mo., takes this idea several steps further. He supplies all his employees with magnetic encrypted perimeter key fobs that record the exact time and date an employee arrives at the store and allows employees access to only the areas of the store appropriate for their level of service.

Without a doubt the most unexpected technological solution uncovered in researching this article belongs to Jeff Harrell, the owner of four drugstores in the Ilwaco, Wash., area. Harrell, who also sits on the NCPA technology committee, has a full range of standard alarms for glass breakage, motion detectors, and smoke alarms. But Harrell says a couple of years ago a wholesaler sales representative mentioned something about a new device he had seen — a security fogger. The idea intrigued Harrell. He did some research on the Internet, found a couple of companies doing this type of thing, and early this year installed this intriguing system.

According to Harrell — and the company’s Web site — the flash fog system consists of two main components that are set off in concert with a store’s normal alarm system. Immediately upon triggering an alarm, the system ejects a thick fog that literally makes it impossible for an intruder to see. And adding to the confusion, the system is paired with a powerful strobe light that disorients the intruder. Within 20 seconds the fog will completely fill the pharmacy area; the effect lasts for 30 minutes or more, ensuring that security personnel will be able to arrive on site before the fog has dissipated. The equipment is hardened enough to withstand a direct hit from a baseball bat and has battery backup so that cutting off the power will not disable the system.

Harrell says the system came in a kit from the distributor in Canada, a company called FlashFog, and that it was installed and interfaced with his current security system by his local alarm company. The total package cost just over $5,000. According to the manufacturer’s Web site, the fog is made from an FDA-approved glycol, is safe to breathe, and will not harm or leave a residue on store inventory, fixtures, or equipment.

Dave Falk, president of Sav-Mor Pharmacies, an eight-store chain in Decatur, Ill., was the inspiration for this article. He had been robbed twice in the past two months. He says he believes that independent and small-chain drugstores were being particularly hard hit because they “seemed to be easy targets for thieves.” He then went on to say he wished something could be done to help more pharmacy owners take the steps necessary to turn the tide on this unfortunate trend.

With my personal thanks to Dave, it is my hope that some of the tips, tactics, technologies, and insights featured here will cause you to rethink what you have done in the area of store security. Unfortunately, the very fact that you handle cash and stock medications with street appeal makes you a target for the unscrupulous among us. Still, by being prepared and making a few modest investments in technology, you can help the authorities catch the criminals, and perhaps even more importantly, keep them from targeting your pharmacy in the first place.