Walgreens installs time-delay safes to deter thieves

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- The goal is to keep robbers from getting in and out quickly.

Now if they go inside to steal drugs, they will have to be in the store for awhile, long enough for police to respond.

Signs posted outside and throughout the store warn would-be robbers there is no way to quickly steal drugs at this pharmacy.

Lisa Warinner said, "We do this by installing the time delay safe and eliminating the immediate availability to targeted drugs by criminals."

Lisa Warinner is the Asset Protection Manager for Walgreens in Central California. She says the newly installed safes take several minutes to open.

"A criminal, they don't want to stay at the crime scene long, if they were to attempt to rob the store, they have to stick around for the safe to open," Warinner said.

The expectation is that robbers will not want to hang around until the safe opens but it also means pharmacists have to work quickly.

Pharmacist, Faye A. said, "If the safe is opened it sounds an alarm, it informs the authorities. It's not that much time that I have to open it up then close it immediately."

Walgreens stores and other pharmacies up and down the Valley have been robbed in recent months. However, installation of these time delay safes shows the number of robberies has dropped and the extra secure safe has thwarted after-hours break-ins.

"Our goal is to prevent robberies and burglaries and essentially provide a safer environment for our communities."

Walgreens will not say how long the delay is, but if you are picking up an addictive narcotic we heard the pharmacist tell a drive up customer you might be waiting just a few minutes longer to get it.