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Posted by: PBC FL Cop

Monday, July 31, 2006

75 Boston cops fail city tests for drugs

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

BOSTON— Seventy-five Boston police officers have failed drug tests since the department started screening for drugs in 1999, and 26 have been fired after flunking a second test, according to department statistics.

An additional 20 of the officers who tested positive resigned because they could not handle the follow-up checks, acting Police Commissioner Albert Goslin said.

The failed tests included 61 for cocaine, 14 for marijuana, two for Ecstasy, and one for heroin, according to the data obtained by the Boston Sunday Globe through a public records request. Some officers had more than one drug in their system. The force has about 2,000 sworn officers.

Some specialists questioned the department’s policy that gives officers a second chance after a positive test.

Eugene O’Donnell, a former New York City police officer who is now a professor of police studies at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, thinks Boston police may have an unusually high number of drug users because of the policy. The New York Police Department has a low drug test failure rate because of its zero tolerance policy, he said.

“Once you establish that people are fired, it does change the complexion,” he said. Most of those who tested positive in Boston’s force did so in the first year of testing.

The department tests for cocaine, heroin, amphetamines, PCP, and marijuana. Officers can be tested for other drugs with reasonable suspicion.

Officers are tested before they join the force, again while on probationary duty, then annually within 30 days of their birthday. They are also tested if they get promoted or assigned to a special unit.

Officers are suspended for 45 days without pay and required to get treatment after a first failed test, then are subject to random testing for three years in addition to regular testing.

WTF????

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Posted by: Barbrady

How sad is that? I don't care how many thousand officers in Boston, those numbers are astonishing. Is this the best Civil Service can do? An embarassment for the whole State, really.

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Posted by: Barbrady

Quote:

Originally Posted by PBC FL Cop Monday, July 31, 2006 An additional 20 of the officers who tested positive resigned because they could not handle the follow-up checks, acting Police Commissioner Albert Goslin said. WTF????

WTF is right.

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Posted by: HousingCop

Sometimes when you water down the broth, the soup is ruined. A whole 75 out of 1,600 or so Police Officers seems a bit much, but you know those hair products!!

Police work and the people that perform it is basically a mirror image of society. With drug use being so prevalent the last 15 years and the lax societal outlook on recreational use, this is what you get. We are (and should) be held to a higher standard in this regard to drugs and other influences in todays world.

Shame on those who get caught the first time. Shame on the brass for even giving them a second chance. There's a 60 day window where you will be tested. Can't these idiots be clean for 2 whole months out of the calendar year? Guess not.

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Posted by: Pacman

I'm a cop, come test me, if you're clean then you should have zero issues with being tested. Union issues aside of course, lmao. This sucks to see imho.

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