POLICE TESTING FINDS NO VIOLATORS

PEABODY -- Lost amid the uproar over the Sept. 11 holiday in the
Peabody police contract was a drug testing policy that Mayor Michael
Bonfanti has touted as one of the strictest in the state.

Officers have been subjected to random tests on five occasions since
the policy was implemented about a year ago. Seventy-five of the
department's 100 sworn officers have been tested, some more than once,
and none have tested positive, Chief Robert Champagne said.

The contract calls for six rounds of a random screening each year. But
a test is also triggered when an officer is promoted, is returning to
work after being out for more than 90 days, or is in an accident, with
a car or motorcycle, for example. Champagne also has the discretion to
order a test if he has "reasonable suspicion" that an officer is using
drugs.

The comprehensiveness of the policy makes Peabody unique on the North
Shore. Most cities and towns either don't have a policy or rely on a
probable-cause threshold, which means the chief can mandate that an
officer take a test if the evidence reliably supports the need for
one.

In Salem, the department can randomly screen prospective candidates.
Sworn officers are also subject to random testing for the 30 days on
either side of their birthdays.

Peabody did not have a testing policy in place prior to the recent
contract.

"There was some nervousness about how it would go," Champagne said.
"People were concerned that it be done fairly and randomly."

But that concern has been allayed, the chief said. "There is a lot of
integrity built into the (testing) process," he said.

A New Hampshire company is the "third party" coordinator of the tests.
It selects which officers are randomly tested with a drawing from
payroll numbers, not names. Those to be tested are informed during the
roll call of their shift and must provide hair follicles, from their
head, arm or leg. These samples are then sent to a federally certified
testing lab.

Hair analysis is more sophisticated than a urine test and, depending
on the length of hair, can screen for substances going as far back as
90 days.

If an officer tests positive, he or she is subject to a suspension
unless able to prove the result was caused by the legal use of
prescription drugs. The length of the suspension is not defined in the
policy, but Champagne said it would likely be several weeks. The
officer would also have to complete a substance abuse program.

An officer cannot be fired after failing one test. A subsequent
failure could lead to termination, Champagne said. If an officer
refuses a test, it is deemed a positive result.

Police union president Richard Rose could not be reached for comment
about the policy.

"It should be reassuring to the public and it should be reassuring to
the officers," said Champagne, who himself was selected for random
testing last week.

Mayor Michael Bonfanti said he is proud of the policy. It is mirrored
by a similar program in place at the fire department since 2008.

Why drug testing for police is important is obvious, according to the
mayor.

"These are public safety professionals," Bonfanti said. "They are also
enforcing the law."