|
Europe:
England
to
Drug
Test
Arrested
Burglars
and
Muggers
12/2/05
https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle-old/413/ukdrugtests.shtml
Under new powers granted
police in Britain's fight against street crime, people arrested for "acquisitive
crime" now face mandatory drug tests upon arrest, according to the Home
Office. Refusal to submit to testing will now become a crime in itself,
punishable by fine or jail time. Until this week, persons arrested
for crimes such as burglary or mugging did not face drug testing until
further along in the judicial process.
Upon arrest, suspects will
be swabbed for traces of cocaine or heroin in an effort to identify those
committing crimes to support a drug habit. All will be assessed by
counselors, and those found to be addicted will be offered drug treatment.
For many, it will be an offer they can't refuse: Failure to comply with
the assessment could mean they will be denied bail.
People who turn out to be
innocent of a crime but who tested positive will also be offered treatment,
although presumably without the coercion facing those convicted of a crime.
The British government estimates
that drug-related crime costs Britain around $30 billion a year.
With heroin users spending an average $100 a day to fix and binging crack
users spending even more, that's an awful lot of stolen purses and TVs.
The new, more aggressive drug testing approach will begin with pilot programs
in high-crime areas, according to the London Observer.
-- END --
|
Issue #413
-- 12/2/05
Update
and
Appeal:
DRCNet
in
2006
|
Editorial:
Now
You
Can
Ask
Me
Why
|
Offer
and
Appeal:
The
Great
Drug
War,
by
Arnold
Trebach
|
Feature:
Plaintiffs
Wanted
--
ACLU
to
File
Lawsuit
Challenging
Federal
Ban
on
Financial
Aid
for
College
Student
Drug
Offenders
|
Feature:
Conference
to
Plot
Drug
War
Exit
Strategy
Gets
Underway
in
Seattle
|
Feature:
Los
Angeles
Event
Raises
Funds
for
HEA
Victims
|
DRCNet
Book
Review:
"Tulia:
Race,
Cocaine,
and
Corruption
in
a
Small
Texas
Town,"
by
Nate
Blakeslee
(2005,
Public
Affairs
Press,
450
pp.,
$26.95
HB)
|
Law
Enforcement:
This
Week's
Corrupt
Cops
Stories
|
Law
Enforcement:
California
Drug
Task
Force
Must
Hold
Public
Meetings,
Court
Rules
|
Asia:
Singapore
Executes
Australian
for
Drug
Smuggling
|
Marijuana:
Marijuana
Crop
Worth
$1.5
Billion
in
One
California
County
Alone,
Paper
Estimates
|
Silliness:
Two
Florida
Grade
School
Girls
Arrested
for
Fake
Marijuana
Prank
|
Europe:
England
to
Drug
Test
Arrested
Burglars
and
Muggers
|
Latin
America:
Mexico
Allows
State,
Local
Cops
to
Join
Drug
War
|
Web
Scan:
New
"Change
The
Climate"
Animation
|
Weekly:
This
Week
in
History
|
Weekly:
The
Reformer's
Calendar
|
This issue -- main page
This issue -- single-file printer version
Drug War Chronicle -- main page
Chronicle archives
|
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