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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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UK: Police could face drug tests
James Rougvie The Courier (Dundee)
Thursday 15 May 2003 TENTATIVE PROPOSALS by Scotland's police chiefs to introduce random drug testing for officers addicted to illegal narcotics or alcohol could be on a collision course with the police officers' union. The proposals come in the wake of disclosures that 1000 police officers may be affected. The Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland has become so alarmed in recent years over the escalation of the problem that it is considering introducing random testing for all new recruits in the first instance. Chief Constable of Tayside police John Vine, who is also chairman of personnel at the association, has agreed there is a pressing need for a method to discover whether people are abusing drugs or alcohol. However, the Scottish Police Federation, which represents the lower ranks in the service, said it did not believe this was the road the police should be going down, indicating that the issue could figure on the agenda of the next federation annual meeting. The federation in Tayside introduced a confidential helpline and counselling service for officers and their families last September and so far have dealt with six calls. It is understood that addiction levels among Scotland's police service mirror the problems in society at large, which means that around 800 may have problems with alcohol while another 160 could be grappling with addictions to other drugs including cannabis, cocaine and heroin. Senior officers say the problem has worsened in recent years and most forces now have an occupational service where officers can go for help and advice, whether the problems are affecting them or their families. The introduction of a confidential service has been welcomed by the federation. It says many officers would be reluctant to disclose problems outwith the service. Secretary of the joint Tayside branch of the federation, Sergeant Mick Pascoe, said the helpline service was to run for a year to see what sort of uptake was present. "We are not suggesting policemen are not human like everyone else and all we are trying to ensure is that there is some form of facility for their concerns." But he turned aside the suggestion by his own chief, and Grampian police, which is also toying with the idea of random testing, that the federation would take the proposals on board. "We do not subscribe to going down this road of random testing. "We need to have some sort of policy regarding the use of drugs as we have for alcohol to safeguard the interests of our officers." He said that although the new moves suggested by police chiefs have not yet been considered by the federation, there was a possibility they could be on the agenda for the next annual meeting. Chief Constable Vine said last night that a proposal was received from the Tayside force's drugs liaison officer who is on the executive of the police federation to set up a confidential counselling service for police officers. "They would self-refer to the service if they had a drug or alcohol problem," he said. "We have endorsed that proposal and we think it is a worthwhile initiative because we do not know the extent of the problem. "Indeed, there may not be a problem but rather than have no mechanism to deal with it and bury our heads in the sand, we thought it would be useful to try something to see if it is used." Sir Roy Cameron, Scotland's chief inspector of constabulary, agreed that policing reflected society and that there were people who would emerge with problems. It was an issue of the age, he said, and the sort of problem which required to be monitored.
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