CHPA, NACDS Join Forces To Fight Crime With Retailer Meth Watch
This article was originally published in The Tan Sheet
Executive Summary
The Retailer Meth Watch program, under development by CHPA and NACDS, will promote cooperation between retailers and law enforcement to prevent diversion of pseudoephedrine to methamphetamine makers
|
The Retailer Meth Watch program, under development by CHPA and NACDS, will promote cooperation between retailers and law enforcement to prevent diversion of pseudoephedrine to methamphetamine makers. The National Association of Chain Drug Stores is joining the Consumer Healthcare Products Association to support the initiative, NACDS announced April 18 at its annual meeting in Phoenix, Ariz. "The overriding goal of the partnership is to give retailers the tools to safely assist law enforcement in the fight against the diversion of legitimate household products to the illegal manufacture of meth in their communities," NACDS says. Modeling their program on one developed by Kansas law enforcement and retailers, the trade groups are using their national networks of companies and retailers to develop and replicate a nationwide model. The program involves retailers posting prominent "Meth Watch" signs and tags "on their doors and windows, around their cash registers and on shelves where precursor products are located," according to CHPA, as a deterrence against theft. Precursor, products, including over-the-counter drugs containing pseudoephedrine and ephedrine, as well as household items such as lithium batteries and rock salt, are placed in prominent areas near surveillance cameras or near counters. Participating retailers "train their employees to recognize, but not to confront, suspicious customers and to contact law enforcement with as much identifying information as possible," CHPA says. The association is developing "a uniform Retailer Meth Watch model that will be made available trough a national website and resource center." In addition, the group will provide funding, "training, technical assistance, and retail support and education" to states and retailers interested in participating. CHPA and NACDS also plan to work with legislators on both state and national levels to secure funding for Meth Watch programs. CHPA President Linda Suydam, speaking at the meeting, noted the program will help prevent hundreds of products from being moved behind the counter. |