POLICE DRUG TESTING SET TO BEGIN SOON

NEW BEDFORD - Nearly two years after officers here agreed to a
first-in-the-state random drug testing policy, the New Bedford Police
Department is getting ready for the first tests.

The idea of random tests were prompted, in part, by the 1997 Bratton
Report, in which surveys showed some 20.4 percent of police believed their
fellow officers were taking drugs or money from local dealers.

Police Chief Arthur Kelly said he expects the program will be in place by
the end of this month.

That does not mean, however, drug testing of police will begin immediately.

Both the days of the test and the officers to be tested will be chosen at
random by a computer program.

Although the New Bedford Police Officer's Union agreed to the random test
as part of the contract between the union and the city in 1998, the program
wasn't scheduled to start until 1999.

Implementation was further delayed, said Chief Kelly, as the two sides
worked out how officers would be notified they were to be tested.

Health Resources Inc. of Woburn will process the tests, which will be
administered locally.

Officers will be tested for drug use upon hiring, when promoted or
reassigned, or when the officers are involved in an accident. Officers also
will have their names put in a pool for tests to be given 10-15 times per
year.

Any officer who tests positive for drug use will be immediatelyterminated
under the program.

Random tests also will be administered to make sure officers aren't under
the influence of alcohol while on the job. Officers who flunk an alcohol
test would face suspension and be required to take an alcohol treatment
course.

Union officials in the past have praised the idea of random drug-testing of
officers as a way to build residents' confidence in the police.

Random selection of officers' employee numbers will determine which
officers get tested.

Tests will be done locally and positive tests will be sent to Woburn for
further analysis.

An officer's number will be placed back in the pool after each test.

"If we have ten tests a year, your number could come up every time," said
Chief Kelly.

"Over time though, the chances of being tested become equitable, of course."