More than 4,700 Ontario pharmacies now required to install time-delayed narcotics safes amid a rise in robberies

More than 4,700 community pharmacies in Ontario are now required to install time-delayed safes for narcotics and high-risk drugs in response to a rise in robberies.

The Ontario College of Pharmacists (OCP), which regulates the province’s community and hospital pharmacies, announced the decision at a board meeting last Tuesday.

The changes went into effect immediately after the meeting, although there is a grace period for pharmacies to order and install the safes which will store narcotics.

Pharmacies must also display visible signage to alert people about the safes.

Time-delayed safes prevent access for a pre-programmed amount of time once a combination is entered.

“The use of time-delay safes has proven to be an effective deterrent to pharmacy robberies in other jurisdictions,” OCP board chair James Morrison said in a written statement.

Shoppers Drug Mart installed time-delay safes in its Ontario locations last November to deter the thefts, the company said.

According to data provided by the Toronto Police Service, the number of pharmacy robberies in the city more than doubled from 49 in 2021 to 123 thefts in 2022.

In February, Toronto police arrested 10 people — including six minors — in relation to 26 armed pharmacy robberies, as part of its “Project Mayhem” investigation which resulted in similar arrests by Peel Regional Police.

In an emailed statement, Toronto police said there have been 54 pharmacy robberies in the city so far this year.

“The TPS Hold Up Squad is encouraging the use of time-delayed safes as they have proven very successful at deterring robberies … We anticipate that time-delayed safes will have the same impact in Toronto,” the statement reads.

The success of time-delayed safes in Western Canada offers a hopeful outlook for Ontario pharmacies.

According to a report from the Alberta College of Pharmacy, the province saw a significant reduction in robberies after it made time-delay safes mandatory last year.

In 2022, there were 10 pharmacy robberies in Edmonton, Alta. from January to April. There were zero robberies from April to January 2023, the college said.

Moatasem Samara, co-owner of five pharmacies in the Edmonton area, said the months following the requirement of time-delayed safes was like waking from a nightmare.

In 2021, Samara’s pharmacies were robbed twice. “Part of my job (was) getting robbed,” he said. “This needed to happen a long time ago,” he added about the mandate.

The Ontario Pharmacists Association, a pharmacist advocacy group, said it supports the OCP’s mandate.

CEO Justin Bates said Ontario pharmacists are welcoming the safes, although some expressed concern that thieves might escalate to violence if they don’t have quick access to narcotics.

“I think as people see the effectiveness … and just the dramatic drop in robberies, that it will gain more support,” he said.

Samara said that while some Alberta pharmacists had similar concerns, safety hasn’t been an issue.

He noted that while time-delayed safes provide relief for many pharmacists, they are one of several options to prevent theft.

“The main thing that would actually reduce robbery is … actually treating addictions in the first place,” he said.

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