| Phot: news.com.au |
One out of every three police officers in New South Wales, Australia will be tested for illegal drugs over the coming year.
The NSW Police Force’s Professional Standards Command has more than doubled the number of random drug tests, from about 2,000 to 5,000 for this fiscal year, reports 702 ABC Sydney.
The decision was taken after two senior officers and a constable were recently caught snorting cocaine, according to Assistant Commissioner Paul Carey.
“In July there were five recall targeted tests on people who we had reasonably good intelligence to say that they may have been using drugs,” Assistant Commissioner Carey said.
“Three of those people tested positive for illicit drugs,” Carey said. “One was in the metropolitan area and two were in the country.”
Commissioner Andrew Scipione made it clear that “drug users” aren’t welcome on the state’s police force.
“People need to decide whether they actually want to be police officers or they want to take drugs, because the two can’t be reconciled,” Scipione said.
“If you take those drugs, if you take recreational drugs, there is no place for you in the NSW Police Force.”
