March 3, 2015
The number of police officers trained in roadside drug testing in Queensland will be expanded sixfold by the end of this month after a 12-month trial detected one offender for every 13 tests.
Police, Fire and Emergency Services Minister Jo-Ann Miller and Police Commissioner Ian Stewart announced the increase today.
“Common sense tells us that drugs can significantly affect someone’s skill and reaction time behind the wheel. Put simply, it reduces your ability to drive safely,” Ms Miller said.
“The community doesn’t accept people getting behind the wheel after a big night out drinking, so we need to ensure we adopt the same attitude towards people driving under the influence of drugs.”
In December 2014, the Road Policing Command began the Statewide Roadside Drug Testing Deployment Project to increase the Queensland Police Service’s ability to perform the tests.
Commissioner Stewart said the project had been a success, with an extra 238 Road Policing Unit officers certified to undertake roadside drug testing.
“Prior to the Statewide Roadside Drug Testing Deployment Project, the QPS had 53 officers trained in roadside drug testing. By the end of March there will be 291,” Commissioner Stewart said.
“This expansion gives us the ability to test even more drivers, right across the state.”
From July 2013 to June 2014, 23,997 roadside drug tests were conducted resulting in 1873 drivers testing positive for a relevant drug – a detection rate of one offender per 13 tests.
Ms Miller said the State Government supported the Queensland Police “100 per cent” in their effort to rid the State’s roads of drug drivers.
“If you get behind the wheel while on drugs, you’re not only putting your own life at risk, you’re also putting the lives of innocent Queenslanders at risk,” she said.
“That is completely unacceptable.”
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