80% Irish pharmacies attacked in past year

»»Third of cases »»Union’s anger violent in nature at low penalties

PHARMACIES are under increasing attack from criminals – with four out of five targeted in the past year, it was revealed yesterday.

Chemists were forced to deal with shoplifting, break-ins and raids and the Irish Pharmacy Union warned without an increased Garda visibility and tougher sentencing, the level of crime will continue to soar.

Almost a third of cases were described as violent and/or involved use of a weapon.

A knife was used in 77% of robberies where a weapon was present and a gun was wielded in 8% of cases. The research also showed crimes against pharmacies are not isolated, with 81% of victims having experienced two or more incidents last year.

The findings were described by IPU President Daragh Connolly as “truly shocking” and he was particularly concerned at the level of violent crimes against staff.

He said: “Almost one in three crimes against pharmacies is violent in nature, involving not only a physical threat but also a substantial psychological threat to victims.

“It is difficult enough to run a pharmacy in the current environment without repeatedly being the target for criminal activity.

“Not only do these crimes have significant cost implications but, more importantly, they have a very detrimental impact on the people working in the pharmacy. It is unacceptable that pharmacy owners and their staff are viewed as soft targets, where probability of repeat offences is high and the risk of apprehension and penalty is low.”

The research also found:

■ 89% of pharmacies which were victims of crime experienced shoplifting and 17% a break-in

■ the number of pharmacists who experienced a raid, at 13%, was up considerably on last year (6%), which highlights the ongoing threat that remains, and

■ 73% reported the case to gardai, with 79% happy their incident was dealt with effectively/adequately.