“It’s extremely scary.” Indiana battles No.1 ranking in pharmacy robberies
http://wthitv.com/2015/09/14/its-extremely-scary-indiana-battles-no-1-ranking-in-pharmacy-robberies/
BRAZIL, Ind. (WTHI) – The Hoosier State ranks at the top of a new list, but it doesn’t come with any bragging rights.
Pharmacy robberies are rising nationwide as the prescription drug epidemic increases, and Indiana leads the U.S. in these crimes.
Being tucked in the small community of Brazil is a luxury that makes working at Lynn’s Pharmacy relatively safe, but “it’s still scary when you come to work,” said Owner Lynn Hostetler.
The pharmacy has never been robbed at gunpoint, but Hostetler said they have been the victim of a couple burglaries, with the last one being nearly seven years ago.
“It’s always the case with drugs, because if you got money or drugs you always have to be careful.”
Hostetler said robberies were common in the seventies until the FBI began investigating those robberies, “that’s when they declined tremendously.”
In recent years, Indiana has cracked down on doctors overprescribing prescription narcotics, shutting down several so-called “pill mills.” In addition, the statewide database Inspect aims to identify patients filling multiple prescriptions for narcotics, who could then be diverting those pills.
These efforts, although positive, may have inadvertently fueled robberies
“There are less physicians writing prescriptions, so I believe they rob the drug stores to obtain the narcotics for sale not for use,” said Hostetler.
Lynn’s Pharmacy has spent more than $20,000 on security. From cameras, and alarms, to dispensing narcotics amongst other drugs that are not arranged in alphabetical order, “all kind of things I don’t want to talk about on TV,” said Hostetler.
All precautions that Hostetler said he has to take to keep his employees and his patrons safe as some criminals are turning to extreme measures
“They are parts of gangs and they use young people to come in, because if they are under age you don’t get sent off to federal prison.”
In a drug dependent society, Hostetler said he’s uncertain if there’s anything more the state could do to cut back on robberies. “Until we get rid of our problems by letting each individual be productive, responsible citizens I don’t think we’re going to see anything get better.”
More than 130 Indiana pharmacies have reported robberies since the start of 2015, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration, which tracks any incident in which prescription drugs are lost.
To counter such thefts, CVS/pharmacy announced last week that it has installed time-delay safes in more than 150 stores in the Indianapolis metro area to deter would-be robbers.
Such thieves like to get in and out of a store as quickly as possible, but time-delay safes require pharmacy employees to enter a code and then wait for a period of time before a safe will open.
Walgreens, which also has the safes in a number of its stores in other states, installed them in Indiana last year, too.
Filed under: General Problems
Herr Hostetter has arrived at an odd concept. Drug stores sell drugs. Their customers depend on drugs. Because the drug store creates drug-dependent customers, robberies happen. So the solution is to close all drug stores…or else…to elect a fearless Leader, who will rule over us all and command us what to do.
I seem to remember a German politician about 80 years ago who had the same bloody stupid idea. He was fond of sticking his arm in the air and holding his hand stiff, and yelled a lot.