BORDER DRUG TESTS DEFENDED

They're Right 99 Per Cent of the Time, Official Says

THE erroneous drug tests that sent Janet Goodin to jail are accurate
more than 99 per cent of the time, the Canadian Border Service Agency
says.

"False positives occur infrequently -- less than one per cent," Lisa
White, a communications agent with the agency, wrote in an email. She
said the agency collects data on the performance of its drug-detection
technologies and performs "service" on them when necessary.

"However, CBSA officers are trained to understand any/all limitations
of the CBSA's detection technologies and that is why these tests are
used only as an indicator during their examination," White wrote.

The presence of a narcotic can't be ultimately proven until confirmed
at a Health Canada laboratory. In this case, the Winnipeg lab proved
the CBSA field tests wrong.

Winnipeg criminal lawyer Tim Killeen questions the weight given to a
preliminary test that can't ultimately lead to a conviction.

"Generally speaking, a presumptive test is only an indication that
further testing and investigation is warranted. It should never be
used as a substitute for scientific analysis. False positives on tests
for things like blood or drugs can lead to horrible consequences when
there really was nothing there. A positive presumptive test should be
a basis to start an investigation, nothing more," he wrote in an email.

Killeen says Goodin's age and the scarcity of heroin trafficking cases
in Manitoba should have given the RCMP pause about charging Goodin.

"Heroin cases are very rare in Manitoba. There have only been a
handful over the years. Why would this woman, with no record, be
involved in such an unlikely crime? What other investigation was done?
Was there any other fact consistent with a crime being committed?" he
wrote.

A judge granted Goodin bail, said Judy Kliewer, a Crown attorney who
dealt with Goodin's case, but Goodin could not provide a surety --
someone who could vouch for the recognizance, the amount of the bail
and supervise Goodin while the charges were still pending. So she
remained in custody.

The Crown opposed bail for Goodin because she's a U.S. citizen and
because importing heroin is a very serious criminal offence, Kliewer
said.

"I think it's widely known that drug couriers come in all shapes and
sizes," she said. "It's part of the modus operandi of drug traffickers
to utilize people who come across as unsuspicious."

Drug trafficking is a "reverse-onus offence," which means the "onus is
on the accused to show cause why he or she should be granted release,"
Kliewer said.

"This was a unique and unusual circumstance," she added.