POLICE RECRUITS TO FACE TESTS FOR ILLEGAL DRUGS

POLICE could soon face random drugs tests as part of a crackdown due to
begin in the next few weeks. In the first instance, all new recruits will
face compulsory checks.

The idea of random tests is being studied by Home Secretary Jack Straw who
has been told there is "overwhelming" support for the move throughout the
police service.

Every chief constable will be told to start screening prospective recruits
for cannabis, cocaine and heroin.

Guidance from the Association of Chief Police Officers will say those
seeking posts in specialist squads such as firearms units should undergo a
drugs test before they are accepted. If they refuse they will not be
considered.

Officers could be disciplined, sacked or prosecuted if they are caught using
drugs but the ACPO will tell forces to deal with staff in a supportive way.

Advice will be sent to all 43 forces in England and Wales in July and will
say disciplinary measures should only be used if officers refuse to take
part in drugs counselling or treatment programmes.

A police source involved in the policy discussions told the Daily Express:
"They want to introduce pre-employment screening at the earliest opportunity
for all recruits.

"Unofficially, it is a great idea and shows a good example, sending a
message that drug use won't be tolerated in any form. But it is really more
of an intelligence test than a drugs check because most people know that if
they stay clean for a few weeks, the drugs are going to be out of their
system and won't show."

The next step would be urine tests for drugs to cover all officers in
specialist posts.

The Government is considering going a step further to ensure police forces
are truly clean - by bringing in legislation to permit random testing.

The move comes six years after the Army first introduced compulsory drugs
tests. A Ministry of Defence spokesman said the move was in response to the
growing use of drugs in society. Despite the testing, some of the Army's
elite forces have been hit by drugs scandals.

Seven members of the Parachute Regiment were arrested in March after failing
routine drugs tests. The six privates and a lance corporal from the 1st
Battalion, based at Aldershot, tested positive for Class A drugs such as
heroin, cocaine, LSD or Ecstasy.

Drugs tsar Keith Hellawell has been pushing for random testing across all
emergency services. Sources in the Home Office concede it is surprising that
police are not subject to testing when soldiers have been randomly tested
for drugs since 1995. The service carries out more than 20,000 tests a year.

One option for police could be the introduction of drugs tests after
accidents involving police vehicles.

Senior police officers recognise they are now recruiting from an age group
in which drug use is commonplace.

A survey this year revealed that one in three people across all walks of
life admitted taking drugs during work time. A fifth of companies have been
informed of illegal drug-taking by employees.

In the police, drug use is still thought to be rare but there have been a
number of cases involving officers who have bought, supplied or used drugs.

Scotland Yard detective Colin Goring, giving evidence at a murder trial
earlier this year, admitted being a former UKP100-a-day cocaine addict.

He revealed he had been on drugs for a decade after falling for a woman
burglary victim who supplied him with drugs.

A Lancashire police officer was arrested allegedly trying to smuggle heroin
out of India in a false-bottomed suitcase and an officer in the Greater
Manchester force was accused of supplying Ecstasy.

The Police Superintendents' Association has been arguing for some time for
random testing. They said: "It is the only way to introduce true detection
and to provide a deterrent."