Waterville chief offers help for those dealing with pharmacy robberies

May 7

AMY CALDER Morning Sentinel

WATERVILLE A rise in area pharmacy robberies has prompted police Chief Joseph Massey to host a workshop May 31 for pharmacists and others who dispense prescription drugs about what to do before, during and after a robbery.

The event will be 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. in the City Council Chambers at The Center, at 93 Main St.

Im becoming very concerned that one of those pharmacy robberies is going to lead to serious injury or death to pharmacy staff, customers or even the robber, Massey said Monday.

Weve had three recent robberies that made me realize we needed to take a proactive approach to reduce robberies and the likelihood of some injuries during those robberies.

Massey said hard narcotics are a powerful motivation for people to rob such facilities.

Theyre not asking for anything else except these hard narcotics, he said. Theyre so focused that all they want is those drugs.

Those wanting to register are asked to call Masseys executive assistant, Kathleen Kenney-Haley, at 680-4704, or e-mail her at kkenney@waterville-me.gov.

The goal of the workshop is to help businesses develop policies and procedures to help reduce the likelihood of a robbery, as well as to help protect staff and others if a robbery happens, Massey said.

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Waterville chief offers help for those dealing with pharmacy robberies