News (Media Awareness Project) - Finland: Finnish Police Test Devices To Detect Drugged Drivers |
| Title: | Finland: Finnish Police Test Devices To Detect Drugged Drivers |
| Published On: | 2004-04-20 |
| Source: | Helsingin Sanomat International Edition (Finland) |
| Fetched On: | 2008-01-18 12:09:57 |
FINNISH POLICE TEST DEVICES TO DETECT DRUGGED DRIVERS
Two methods used on trial basis
Police in Finland hope to find 250 drivers in the next seven months they
suspect of driving while under the influence of illegal drugs who would
agree to a saliva test.
The testing is part of the so-called ROSITA 2 (ROadSIde Testing Assessment)
project, in which the United States and the European Union are seeking to
assess the feasibility of identifying drug use with a roadside test.
In the experimental project, police will seek out suspected drugged drivers
in regions of Uusimaa and Tampere from May through the end of the year.
This will not be random testing; only drivers exhibiting behaviour
suggesting possible intoxication are to be tested. The result of the saliva
test alone will not be admissible as evidence in court.
The test would be conducted with a device called Intercept. In it, an
implement resembling a toothbrush is rubbed between the cheek and gum, and
is kept in the mouth for three minutes. Then the stick is placed in a tube
and sent to a laboratory, where the results are compared with those of a
blood test.
It is the results of the blood test that are considered "official", and
admissible in court.
The same project involves the experimental use of another saliva testing
device, called Drugwipe, which gives a result in a few minutes.
The experimental use of the device is seen as similar to that of a
breathalyser test for alcohol, and the consent of the person being tested is
not required.
In the test, the tongue of the person being tested is swabbed, after which
the police officer places the swab in the holder. The result appears on a
display as different types of lines after a couple of procedures.
Both devices are in their experimental phase as methods of screening drivers
before they taken to blood tests and closer laboratory studies.
The ROSITA 2 project comes to an end at the end of next year. The aim is to
find a device that could be used for the roadside testing for illegal drug
use in the way that breathalysers are used to detect use of alcohol.
Links: Rosita web site http://www.rosita.org/
Two methods used on trial basis
Police in Finland hope to find 250 drivers in the next seven months they
suspect of driving while under the influence of illegal drugs who would
agree to a saliva test.
The testing is part of the so-called ROSITA 2 (ROadSIde Testing Assessment)
project, in which the United States and the European Union are seeking to
assess the feasibility of identifying drug use with a roadside test.
In the experimental project, police will seek out suspected drugged drivers
in regions of Uusimaa and Tampere from May through the end of the year.
This will not be random testing; only drivers exhibiting behaviour
suggesting possible intoxication are to be tested. The result of the saliva
test alone will not be admissible as evidence in court.
The test would be conducted with a device called Intercept. In it, an
implement resembling a toothbrush is rubbed between the cheek and gum, and
is kept in the mouth for three minutes. Then the stick is placed in a tube
and sent to a laboratory, where the results are compared with those of a
blood test.
It is the results of the blood test that are considered "official", and
admissible in court.
The same project involves the experimental use of another saliva testing
device, called Drugwipe, which gives a result in a few minutes.
The experimental use of the device is seen as similar to that of a
breathalyser test for alcohol, and the consent of the person being tested is
not required.
In the test, the tongue of the person being tested is swabbed, after which
the police officer places the swab in the holder. The result appears on a
display as different types of lines after a couple of procedures.
Both devices are in their experimental phase as methods of screening drivers
before they taken to blood tests and closer laboratory studies.
The ROSITA 2 project comes to an end at the end of next year. The aim is to
find a device that could be used for the roadside testing for illegal drug
use in the way that breathalysers are used to detect use of alcohol.
Links: Rosita web site http://www.rosita.org/
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