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| Government unveils details for drug-driving detector | Government unveils details for drug-driving detector |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| The Home Office has published the specification for a new device for police to use to test whether drivers are under the influence of drugs. | The Home Office has published the specification for a new device for police to use to test whether drivers are under the influence of drugs. |
| Ministers say the "drugalyser", as it has been nicknamed, will not be used on the roadside but in a police station. | |
| It will take a mouth swab and analyse it for traces of cannabis, cocaine, amphetamines, heroin or methadone. | It will take a mouth swab and analyse it for traces of cannabis, cocaine, amphetamines, heroin or methadone. |
| The move follows the publication of a review into the problem of drug-driving last June. | The move follows the publication of a review into the problem of drug-driving last June. |
| The review, by Sir Peter North, concluded that the drug-driving problem was "out of all proportion" to the official figures - partly because of the difficulty in testing for drugs, which means many cases go unrecorded. | The review, by Sir Peter North, concluded that the drug-driving problem was "out of all proportion" to the official figures - partly because of the difficulty in testing for drugs, which means many cases go unrecorded. |
| At the moment police first need a doctor to decide whether the suspect has a "condition which might be due to a drug", and then a blood test has to be carried out. | At the moment police first need a doctor to decide whether the suspect has a "condition which might be due to a drug", and then a blood test has to be carried out. |
| Getting a doctor to the police station and the examination itself both take time - and could mean the drugs have left the suspect's system before the blood sample is taken. | Getting a doctor to the police station and the examination itself both take time - and could mean the drugs have left the suspect's system before the blood sample is taken. |
| Manufacturer interest | Manufacturer interest |
| Under the new plans, police will still have to rely on so-called impairment tests which require drivers to carry out basic tasks such as walking in a straight line at the roadside. | Under the new plans, police will still have to rely on so-called impairment tests which require drivers to carry out basic tasks such as walking in a straight line at the roadside. |
| But if a suspect is arrested, they will be able to be tested with the new device at a police station. | But if a suspect is arrested, they will be able to be tested with the new device at a police station. |
| If the test is positive, a blood sample will then be taken by a custody nurse. | If the test is positive, a blood sample will then be taken by a custody nurse. |
| Manufacturers are being asked to indicate whether they would be interested in designing the "drugalyser". | Manufacturers are being asked to indicate whether they would be interested in designing the "drugalyser". |
| In August 2010, the government said the move could lead to a roll-out of the technology across all police forces in England, Scotland and Wales within two years. | In August 2010, the government said the move could lead to a roll-out of the technology across all police forces in England, Scotland and Wales within two years. |
| Development work is also continuing on a roadside version. | Development work is also continuing on a roadside version. |
| Last year the Home Office and Department for Transport said it would spend £300,000 on research into roadside testing equipment, with the eventual aim that all evidence for prosecutions could be gathered at the scene by traffic police. | Last year the Home Office and Department for Transport said it would spend £300,000 on research into roadside testing equipment, with the eventual aim that all evidence for prosecutions could be gathered at the scene by traffic police. |