POLICE MISPLACE DRUGS

The Victoria police detective division has launched an investigation
aimed at locating an educational drug kit full of street narcotics
that went missing from the detachment four months ago.

Insp. Grant Smith, head of the Victoria police department's targeted
policing division, said the kit was one of two that was used to
educate parents, students and other groups about the dangers of drug
use.

The kit, which contained $1,500 to $2,000 worth of drugs such as
cocaine, crystal methamphetamine, heroin, magic mushrooms, marijuana,
hashish and ecstasy, was reported missing from a filing cabinet in
mid-May. It was last seen a week earlier.

"The constable in charge of the program at the time didn't think too
much of it," Smith said.

However when an administrative review failed to locate the missing kit
over the summer, the department informed the Victoria police board and
turned the file over to police investigators.

"There's no indication that the kit was misappropriated by anyone in
this department," Smith said.

When pressed, Smith said that doesn't mean police have ruled out any
suspects, just that there is no evidence to suggest a theft by staff.

While only one officer had a key to the filing cabinet where the drugs
were stored, Smith noted that other employees had access to that area
of the building and said it's possible that the cabinet could have
been left unlocked.

"It's not just police officers that inhabit the building," he said.
"I'm sincerely hoping it was misplaced."

The incident will result in changes to police procedures for handling
the kits.

"We had a breakdown in our policy," Smith admitted. "We were using the
honour system. There wasn't really any paperwork in signing it out.
Our focus now is to correct that problem."

The drug education program, which was also used to train police dogs
and keep police officers familiar with local trends in the illicit
drug market, has been suspended pending an internal review and the
implementation of policy changes, Smith said.

The Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner has also been informed
of the incident, he added.

"Things happen. This has happened and we're trying to be as
transparent as possible," Smith said. "This is certainly a mistake
that I personally regret."