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A pharmacy owner in Sunderland has given his staff panic button devices to wear “like necklaces” during their shifts because his business has repeatedly been targeted by intruders.

Umesh Patel told Independent Community Pharmacist he was so concerned for the safety of his staff at Leema Pharmacy in Sunderland that he asked them to wear the devices which “trigger an audible noise if staff think it needs to be triggered”.

He also said he will get body cameras for every member of staff in an attempt to stop criminals targeting his pharmacy.

The latest incident occurred on the afternoon of January 30 this year when two intruders entered Leema Pharmacy and stole shampoos and deodorants before physically assaulting his staff member Christine.

Staff member was physically pushed

The incident was recorded on the pharmacy’s CCTV and reported to Northumbria Police. The pair were apprehended and are due to appear in court.

“The incident happened around 4pm when the pharmacy was very busy,” Patel said. “They took shampoos, deodorants and were walking out of the front door of the shop when a member of staff said ‘you can’t do this’.

“As the staff member was physically pushed, I wanted that taken as assault and appropriate action was taken. At the time of the incident, I was in the consultation room doing Pharmacy First which is very time-consuming and takes your eyes away from the day-to-day management of the business.”

Although the pair were caught, Patel said he was concerned the police “don’t have powers (to deal with) petty thieving” which means “offenders are getting away with it”.

“They think they have the right to thieve and no-one can punish them,” he said. “It feels as if we have to work our guts out for them to thieve from shops for their day-to-day living.”

Patel urged the Government “to wake up and introduce very tough punishments”. He called for repeated offenders to be fitted with electronic tags “so they are kept away from all retailers” and have their “state benefits taken away if they offend”.

“These punishments will free prison spaces as they don’t have to be imprisoned for the offences,” Patel said. "We have now introduced panic buttons for the staff to put on for their safety and press the panic button in case of an attack.”

My wife thought she was going to knifed and killed

Patel said the “worst incident” occurred a few years ago when an intruder walked into the pharmacy’s dispensary, brandished a large knife from a carrier bag and took his wife’s car keys before driving off. He was never caught.

“My wife could have lost her life in the line of duty,” Patel said. “They never caught the thief who took the car but police recovered the it in a couple of days when it was blocking someone’s driveway.

“That was the worst incident. My wife suffered because she thought she was going to knifed and killed. We’ve had intruders before but not as bad as that. It is a very depressing time for all retailers with these type of incidents.”

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