Report Summary
This report provides members of the Forensic Services Committee with an overview of Drug Driving Pilot.
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Meeting
The publication discussed was referenced in the meeting below
Forensic Services Committee - 7 August 2025
Date : 07 August 2025
Location : Online
Forcewide Implementation of Drug-Wipes
The incremental roll out of drug-wipes is intended to provide local policing with access to a specialism that is currently reserved for road policing officers. Consequently, local policing will have the skills and opportunity to carry out drug-wipes within local communities and capture additional offenders and make a positive difference to road safety outcomes.
The proposal of adding 315 local policing officers (3.2% of Police Scotland’s statistical front-line) to the cadre of road policing officers and those in the Shetland Islands will expand evidential submissions by 400 a month and test the capability of out-sourced laboratory provider – Eurofins who will be exclusively used for testing and reporting outcomes.
It is projected that at the conclusion of the incremental expansion, Police Scotland will be submitting in excess of 700 evidential samples per month.
The long-term goal of a Force-wide roll out of drug-wipes will require the support of significant investment in forensic services to cope with the scale and nature demand of drug-driving in Scotland.
Any consideration of a Force-wide roll out would need to be considered alongside significant demands of medical practitioners, custody suites, productions stores and criminal justice partners. In addition, consideration would need to be made on how to meet the cost to the organisation.
