Albertsons installs time-locked safes at pharmacies

Albertsons has completed a system-wide installation of time-locked safes at every pharmacy location.

Since the beginning of 2020, more than 1,700 safes have been installed across the country and can be found at any pharmacy location in Albertsons, Safeway, Vons, Jewel-Osco, Shaw's, Acme, Tom Thumb, Randalls, United Supermarkets, Pavilions, Star Market, Haggen, and Carrs stores. 

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The company noted that central to pharmacies is the trust communities place in them to provide a safe environment and reliable access to prescription services.

Research on retail crime prevention has shown that time-locked safes promote a safe environment through securing access to  controlled substances and preventing confrontations that can put employees in harm’s way, the company said. 

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For local pharmacies, the installation has resulted in a substantial decrease in attempted robberies and theft of controlled substances, and a safer environment for customers and employees overall. Early results show a substantial reduction in attempted robberies, attributable in part to improvements like newly installed time-locked safes, Albertsons stated.