A new survey by the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) has found that 9 out of 10 pharmacy owners (93%), who reported criminal incidents to the police last year, are unhappy with their response.
The NPA has called for a tougher response from the police and the NHS, amid rising levels of crime, including shoplifting, theft of prescription medicines, assaults of staff members or racist behaviour.
The association, which represents over 6,000 pharmacies, pointed out that unlike other shops on the high street pharmacies stock valuable prescription medicines and some controlled drugs.
The survey also found that 98 per cent had seen instances of criminal behaviour increase since they started their careers in pharmacy.
The survey covered around 400 pharmacies across the UK and found that:- 89 per cent experienced shoplifting while 11 per cent had seen burglary attempts to access prescription medicines.
- 35 per cent had seen staff members assaulted in the last year and 3 per cent have even seen sexual assaults on staff.
- 78 per cent had seen harassment of staff, while a previous NPA survey found that 82 per cent had experienced racist abuse.
- 30 per cent of pharmacies chose not to report incidents to the police, citing concerns about response time.
A number of pharmacies have told the NPA that the police were not treating shoplifting as a priority.
Low priority
The police often arrive long after the incident, and decide not to investigate further as the value of the goods stolen is low. This emboldens the culprits to repeat the crime, the survey said.
Some pharmacies reported having to spend significant sums on new security staff, panic alarms as well as costly entry and exit schemes.
During the survey, one pharmacy owner said they had to employ a security guard, and this costs him 60k a year. "I need support from the NHS with this cost."
These additional expenses also prevents them from investing in new services for patients.
One pharmacy owner told the NPA that his shop has faced many instances of shoplifting and attempted burglaries, but he does not have enough funding to further increase security measures.
As pharmacies remain open late in the night, the staff members are vulnerable to aggressive or even violent behaviour.
Unlike other parts of primary care, pharmacies do not receive any funding to improve their security, despite around 90 per cent of their income coming from the NHS.
The NPA has called on the NHS to provide security funding for pharmacies, in the same way they do for GPs.
Lack of police support
Olivier Picard, Chair of the National Pharmacy Association said: “This is a very worrying survey which shows a lack of support for pharmacies when they report what can be long running, costly and serious crimes to the police.
“Police work incredibly hard, often putting themselves in danger in the course of their duties but we are concerned that they do not have the resources to adequately tackle high street crimes such as these.
“Pharmacies are not like ordinary shops on the high street. Not only do they provide a vital health service to their patients but they also stock prescription medicines.
“Theft of medication from a pharmacy, such as strong pain relief or benzodiazepines, could have serious consequence for someone’s health.
“Reports of racist abuse, assaults and even sexual assaults of staff are absolutely disgusting and we must do more to tackle this and protect our workforce.
“This includes a stronger police response and pharmacies being offered the same support as other parts of the NHS to make security arrangements.”
