DEA Theft & Loss Data · 2010–2022

    302,547 controlled substance incidents.
    How many happened in your state?

    The DEA received over 300,000 theft and loss reports from registered handlers between 2010 and 2022. Nearly 1 in 6 were attributed to employee theft or suspected diversion — the exact risk that paper narcotic logs cannot catch in real time.

    Data source: U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration Theft Loss Reporting (TLR) system, obtained via FOIA by the Data Liberation Project (2023). Public domain.

    Click your state to see the local DEA incident data

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    See how many controlled substance incidents were reported in your state, what they cost, and whether your current documentation would hold up under a DEA inspection.

    📊Incident breakdown
    💰Cost exposure
    📋Compliance gap
    📄PDF briefing

    The national picture

    302,547

    Total DEA incidents

    Controlled substances · 2010–2022

    47,238

    Employee theft incidents

    15.6% of all reported losses

    24 mo.

    Avg. detection lag

    Diversion goes undetected on average

    $300K+

    Avg. legal settlement

    Per confirmed diversion event

    About the incident data: DEA Theft Loss Reporting (TLR) system, covering all federally registered handlers of controlled substances. Obtained via FOIA by the Data Liberation Project (2023). Public domain. The DEA's business activity categories do not include a dedicated EMS classification for this period — EMS agencies operating under practitioner or hospital registrations are captured within those categories. State-level employee theft estimates are proportional to the national rate (15.6%).

    About the cost figures: DEA civil penalty ceiling ($25,000/violation) per the Controlled Substances Act, 21 U.S.C. § 842. Record-keeping fine ($15,040/entry) and settlement figures ($300,000+ average) per published healthcare diversion reports including Wolters Kluwer (2023). Provider replacement ($82,000) and retraining ($15,000/unit) from published healthcare workforce studies. Detection lag (24 months) and undetected diversion rate (80–93%) from peer-reviewed hospital diversion literature. Figures reflect healthcare sector averages; EMS-specific data is not separately published.