POLICE DEPARTMENT PERSONNEL TO TAKE RANDOM DRUG TESTS

DAYTONA BEACH -- In a move to ensure that sworn personnel --
including Police Chief Mike Chitwood -- are not abusing illegal
narcotics, the Police Department will begin random drug tests next month.

Starting Jan. 15, three to four officers a week will have to give a
urine sample to ensure that they're free of drugs, Deputy Police
Chief Ben Walton said. That will include everyone from Chitwood to
the newest cop on the beat.

It's the first time Daytona Beach has put such a program in place, a
police union official said, recalling that in the past, officers were
only tested for drugs when a "reasonable suspicion" existed.

And while random drug testing is not a new concept within police
departments, the frequency with which Daytona Beach police will test
its sworn personnel -- weekly -- is unique, said officials with the
International Union of Police Associations in Sarasota, which
represents 500 police departments across the country.

"I think the frequency of the tests is somewhat intrusive," said Rich
Roberts, a spokesman for the group. "That certainly never came across my desk."

Roberts said most police departments test either monthly or
quarterly. That includes many departments in Volusia County, such as
the Sheriff's Office, New Smyrna Beach police and Port Orange. Some
departments, like Holly Hill and the Flagler County Sheriff's Office,
only test certain officers, while some agencies do not require their
top brass to be tested unless they volunteer.

But because police officers are held to a higher standard by society,
the frequency of the tests is warranted, Daytona Beach police officials said.

"If we're locking up people for drugs, let's make sure our own
officers are clean," Walton said Tuesday. "If an officer tests
positive, both the chief and I want him or her fired."

In addition, police officers have more access to illegal drugs
because of seized narcotics, said Professor Tom Mieczkowski of the
University South Florida.

In a 2005 article in Officer.com, Mieczkowski said "contact with
crime, criminals and the gray zones of normative behavior, discretion
and officer's substantial autonomy, offer ever-present opportunities
for corruption in police work."

Many officers choose to use narcotics they themselves have seized
from a suspect, Mieczkowski said, because the drugs are free.
Additionally, the officer does not run the risk of being identified
or blackmailed by a dealer if he purchases drugs on the street.

Walton said the logistics of Daytona Beach's program have not yet
been ironed out, such as exactly who will administer the tests. But
the deputy chief said the tests "definitely will not be done at
police headquarters."

Here's how the plan will work: The test administrator will get the
employee number of each sworn officer. Every month, the employee
numbers of nine or 10 officers will be drawn for testing. In order to
get all the officers tested that month, three or four officers a week
will give a urine sample.

It's possible, Walton said, that an officer's employee number may be
chosen more than once.

"An officer could be tested 12 times in one year," he said. "That's
the way it goes."

The terms being set forth by Daytona Beach police are not harsh,
police union representative Jeff Candage said, but police officials
should look at each officer's situation on a case-by-case basis if
someone tests positive for drugs.

"We really need to have zero tolerance on drugs," Candage said. "But
if you have an officer that is injured on the job and they suddenly
begin to take pain medication and get addicted to it, I think that
officer needs to be looked at differently than someone who's doing cocaine."

Candage said the union is behind the idea because it believes the
drug tests will be "truly random," given the advanced technology used
for testing urine samples.

However, Roberts of the union group said the concern among most sworn
personnel deals mainly with the accuracy of such tests and whether
there is an appeal process in place if the test is positive for narcotics.

Candage said the union will make sure officers' rights are not
trampled in the process, but he also said most of the sworn personnel
he's talked to back random drug testing.

"It's really a no-brainer," he said.