Purdue Pharma L.P. and the National Community Pharmacists Association Join Forces to Help Prevent Pharmacy Burglary

PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Purdue Pharma L.P. and the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) debut the second annual "RxPATROL® Pharmacy Safety and Security" video at NCPA's Annual Convention and Trade Exposition in Philadelphia and on www.RxPATROL.org. Purdue Pharma and NCPA partnered to create this free tool to help educate pharmacists and pharmacy staff about preventing pharmacy crime as part of NCPA's Protect Your Pharmacy Now! initiative, begun in 2008.

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Community pharmacist Jim Fields, an NCPA member and Purdue's Director of Law Enforcement Liaison and Education, Rick Zenuch, discuss pharmacy burglary theft and how to prevent it. They tour Fields' pharmacy in Ft. Smith, Arkansas, evaluating his security measures and discussing additional steps that can be taken to prevent burglary. The goal is to help pharmacists make their stores a harder target for thieves and educate them on how they can assist law enforcement in the event of a burglary.

"Pharmacy crime affects our customers, our staff, and our businesses" said NCPA President Joseph Harmison, RPh. "As communities across the country experience robberies and burglaries, NCPA is pleased to continue our Protect Your Pharmacy Now! partnership with Purdue's RxPATROL program to help our members prevent pharmacy crime."

Created in May 2003, RxPATROL is the only program specifically tracking pharmacy crime. Using visual and other evidence gathered by RxPATROL, pharmacies and law enforcement are alerted to crimes that have occurred in their area and trends in criminal activity. More than 3,500 drug diversion investigators receive daily RxPATROL pharmacy crime alerts and more than 1,200 law enforcement officers have utilized the database.  Pharmacy staff, law enforcement officials and loss prevention personnel can follow updates about pharmacy robberies, burglaries and potential threats in their area and nationwide on RxPATROL's Twitter page, www.twitter.com/rxpatrol.

"Purdue encourages pharmacists and pharmacy staff to register with RxPATROL," said Zenuch. "The more pharmacists and law enforcement use the RxPATROL system the more effective the system will be in helping combat pharmacy crime."

RxPATROL® partners with Crime Stoppers and other community anti-crime programs to offer rewards for information leading to arrests for pharmacy crime. Tips can be made anonymously and have led to nearly 100 arrests since the program's inception. More information about the program can be found at www.RxPATROL.com.

In addition to RxPATROL®, Purdue's Law Enforcement Liaison and Education (LELE) Program provides law enforcement and healthcare providers with training and educational materials to help them combat prescription drug abuse and pharmacy crime. The LELE team is comprised of seasoned law enforcement professionals who are knowledgeable about prescription drug-related crime and healthcare fraud issues.

Purdue Pharma L.P. and its associated U.S. companies are privately-held pharmaceutical companies known for pioneering research on pain. Headquartered in Stamford, CT, Purdue is engaged in the research, development, production, and distribution of both prescription and over-the-counter medicines and hospital products. Additional information about Purdue can be found at www.purduepharma.com.

The National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA®) represents America's community pharmacists, including the owners of more than 22,700 independent community pharmacies, pharmacy franchises, and chains. Together they represent an $88 billion health-care marketplace, employ over 65,000 pharmacists, and dispense over 40% of all retail prescriptions. To learn more go to www.ncpanet.org or read NCPA's blog, The Dose, at http://ncpanet.wordpress.com.

SOURCE Purdue Pharma L.P.