Infrastructure Minister John O’Dowd with Assistant Chief Constable Melanie Jones unveiling new drug-detection kits
The Police Service of Northern Ireland have today, Thursday 26th September unveiled new drug-detection kits as part of Road Policing Unit’s commitment to policing together for safe, secure and efficient roads.
This is an initial 12 month pilot programme across Northern Ireland, during which specially trained officers from the Road Policing Unit and District Support Teams will be able to use DrugWipes to check for cannabis and cocaine at the roadside.
This equipment is in addition to the existing testing available for alcohol levels.
The roadside kit uses a mouth swab, with and a red line appearing if the person has taken the drugs.
This month officers across Northern Ireland will be provided with devices, as part of a pilot programme, to help detect drivers using vehicles whilst under the influence of illegal substances.
Assistant Chief Constable Melanie Jones, who is responsible for the Police Service of Northern Ireland’s Operational Support Department, said:
“Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs will drastically increase the risk of causing a collision.
"Since January, sadly 46 people have lost their lives on our roads. That number is far too high and we must work together to keep each other safe.
“These DrugWipes will allow us to target those using illegal drugs while driving and ensure they face the full rigours of the law for their lack of care for the safety of fellow citizens.
“We are committed to continually improving road safety and robustly challenging those who recklessly risk the safety of road users and the wider public.
“We all share the responsibility to keep ourselves and other road users safe.”
Currently over 60 officers have been trained from the Road Policing and District Support Teams. All officer will undergo training before they can use the equipment.
If cannabis and/or cocaine is detected and there is evidence of driver impairment, the driver can be arrested and taken to a police station where they will be asked to provide a blood sample.
Between 1st September 2023 and 31st August 2024 there were 3,104 arrests for drink/drug driving offences.
Infrastructure Minister John O’Dowd has welcomed the launch of a new tool to detect drivers under the influence of illegal substances.
In 2023, 71 people lost their lives on the North’s roads – the highest number of deaths for eight years.
Forty six people have died following road traffic collisions in 2024. Sadly, six people have lost their lives on roads in the north since the beginning of September alone.
The Minister recently launched the Road Safety Strategy for Northern Ireland to 2030 and the Road Safety Strategy Action Plan 2024/25, which includes a review of current drug-driving legislation.
Department for Infrastructure Minister John O’Dowd said:
“The launch of this roadside drugs-test tool is timely.
“In the North, the death rate on our roads is, on average, one per week. It’s a shocking statistic and the devastation every road death leaves in its wake knows no boundaries.
“In 2023, 11 people were killed in road traffic collisions where alcohol or drugs were attributed.
“As road users we must do everything we can – both individually and collectively – to reduce road deaths.
“The addition of roadside drug detection to the PSNI tool kit to the fight against illegal road behaviours will hopefully make people think before driving under the influence of drugs.”