Law Enforcement Drug Screening Guidelines

"As a result of the Government of Canada commitment to legalize and restrict access to cannabis as well as increased concerns over road safety due to drug-impaired driving, Public Safety Canada and the RCMP, in collaboration with the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators, undertook a pilot project with law enforcement from across Canada to test the use of oral fluid drug screening devices as tools to enhance the enforcement of drug-impaired driving. The objectives of the pilot were to examine the use of oral fluid drug screening devices in the Canadian climate, within applicable Canadian law enforcement practices, to develop and inform law enforcement training guidelines and standard operating procedures for device use, and to identify possible elements for inclusion as standards for the devices. In a previous study, "An assessment of oral fluid drug screening devices", the devices were deemed reliable in their ability to detect the identified drugs. Therefore, the reliability was not re-examined as part of the objectives of this pilot. This report contains further information on the methodology and results of the pilot project, as well as a summary of the recommendations for device standards, standard operating procedures and training guidelines. This report was developed in consultation with seven police jurisdictions: Vancouver Police Department, Halifax Regional Police Service, Toronto Police Service, Gatineau Police Service, Ontario Provincial Police, North Battleford RCMP, and Yellowknife RCMP"--Executive summary, p. 3, 4.

The manual provides practical assistance to law enforcement agencies and forensic laboratories. It contains general guidelines for law enforcement officers on sampling a suspect material; an outline on the execution of various field testing methods; guidelines for the interpretation of the results; and characteristics for precursors and essential chemicals. The manual also outlines a suggested training programme for chemical field testing to assist law enforcement agencies in developing their training programmes.

"The growing pressures in society and government for drug testing programs and the intrusiveness of both testing procedures and their results on personal privacy led the Privacy Commissioner to undertake a review of federal government drug testing policy and practice. While there is no doubt that drug testing infringes personal privacy in a profound sense, one must not be blind to the need to protect the public interest. R.I.D.E. programs, for example, are seen as justifiable intrusions on private rights to safeguard the public good, even in light of the Charter of Rights. The recommendations contained in this report are offered as a contribution to the ongoing debate and a guide to government. The development of drug testing policies and practices which respect the requirements of the Privacy Act and which keep in appropriate balance public and private rights will be a unique anddifficult challenge"--Introduction, p.2.

This three-volume Encyclopedia of Law Enforcement provides a comprehensive, critical, and descriptive examination of all facets of law enforcement on the state and local, federal and national, and international stages. This work is a unique reference source that provides readers with informed discussions on the practice and theory of policing in an historical and contemporary framework. The volumes treat subjects that are particular to the area of state and local, federal and national, and international policing. Many of the themes and issues of policing cut across disciplinary borders, however, and several entries provide comparative information that places the subject in context.

Comprises 14 articles reporting on experimental research.