B.05 Drug and Alcohol Testing (National Policy)

Services must also meet the requirements for all other relevant legislation, regulations, relevant Department of Corrections' policies, national systems, and such other instructions as may be issued by the Chief Executive from time to time.

Short Description

Drug Detection is aimed at detecting and preventing the supply of drugs into prison with the medium-long term objective to reduce re-offending by reducing drug use in prison and post release.

Initiatives to achieve this include:

• The testing for drugs and alcohol via:
  • Random testing programmes
  • Reasonable grounds
  • Voluntary participants.
• Searching visitors and prisoners, including the visitor management system, vehicle checkpoints and drug-dog teams. 

Policy Standard

• Drug and alcohol testing, and the subsequent management of prisoners found guilty of a disciplinary offence related to drugs and / or alcohol at a disciplinary hearing, are managed in accordance with statutory and policy requirements.
• In addition to the information on drug and alcohol testing provided to prisoners through the formal induction programme, staff should take advantage of informal opportunities to remind prisoners about how drug or alcohol use will affect their sentence management, Identified Drug User (IDU) status, and what this status means.

Performance Standards

1. Prisoners may be required to provide a urine sample for analysis in order to detect whether they have used drugs or consumed alcohol or both, if they: have been sentenced to a term of imprisonment or remand (who have spent more than 30 continuous days in prison, and has more than 10 days to serve).
2. Urine samples will be laboratory tested in accordance with the applicable Australian Standards, AS 4308-2001.
3. The names of prisoners for the random testing programmes will be selected by a computer programme that uses a pre-defined algorithm to randomly select each prisoner who is eligible to be tested under that programme on a weekly basis.
4. The computer programme will also select extra prisoner names each week. “Extra” prisoners may only be tested where a prisoner (or prisoners) selected for testing under a random programme is unavailable. Records will be kept as to why originally selected prisoners are not tested. “Extra” prisoners must be tested in the descending order in which their names are generated by the computer. 
5. At the beginning of the financial year all prisons will be given approximate figures as to how many randomly selected prisoners in each category IOMS will select for testing by the prison, and how many manually created tests the prison is allowed to do.  It should be remembered that despite the use of the word "target" the forecasting of random selections is only an estimate.  If the IOMS drug register randomly selects more prisoners for testing for a prison than the number originally forecast, the random tests should nevertheless be completed unless there are valid grounds for cancelling any of the tests.
6. No more than 10% of prisoners per month may be selected for testing in the general random programme so long as they are:
   1. those serving a sentence of imprisonment, who have served a continuous period of 30 days or more and are not within 10 days of their release date;
   2. remand prisoners held in custody for a continuous period of 30 days or more.
7. No more than 20% of prisoners returning from temporary release will be randomly selected per month.
8. No more than 20% of prisoners who have been found guilty of a disciplinary offence related to drugs and or alcohol and who have had an identified drug user (IDU) status applied will be randomly selected per month.
9. Urine samples will normally be collected at a reasonable time unless the Prison Manager or any other staff member authorised for the purpose by the Prison Manager believes, on reasonable grounds, that the prisoner has committed an offence against section 129 or section 130(1) of the Corrections Act 2004.
10. All requests for testing a prisoner under the reasonable grounds provision must be accompanied by an incident report or a security intelligence report signed by the Prison Manager or staff member authorised for the purpose by the Prison Manager, approving the “reasonable grounds”.
11. A prisoner who is required under section 124 of the Corrections Act 2004 to submit to a prescribed procedure for the purpose of detecting whether or not the prisoner has used drugs, or consumed alcohol, or both, may, immediately before the prisoner supplies a sample in accordance with that procedure, be required to undergo a strip search conducted by an officer, but only if -
    1. The nature of the required procedure is such that there is a risk that the prisoner may tamper with the sample; and
    2. A strip search is necessary to ensure that such tampering does not occur.
12. To prevent adulteration, prisoners may be required to wash their hands immediately before providing a sample, or be required to wear gloves while providing it.
13. Where a sample has been supplied by the prisoner pursuant to section 124 and the Prison Manager believes, on reasonable grounds, that the prisoner's previous sample was diluted, tainted or contaminated may require the prisoner to:
    1. provide another sample (pursuant to section 124(2)(d)) and
    2. undergo a strip search (pursuant to section 98(6)(g)) immediately before the taking of another sample.
14. A prisoner who is required to provide a urine sample must be given such reasonable privacy as is consistent with the necessity to ensure a sample that is suitable for analysis is obtained.
15. Despite B.05.01 Procedure 4 and 25, if a person, other than the prisoner from whom a urine sample has been collected, spills that urine sample, the prisoner may not be required on that occasion to provide another sample.
16. Only a kit provided by a specified laboratory is to be used. Each collection kit must contain:
    1. A sterile collection container;
    2. Two sterile sample bottles each marked with the same specimen identification number;
    3. Two sterile tamper proof sample bottle security labels;
    4. A plastic specimen bag containing a liquid absorbing sheet;
    5. A collection kit box shipping seal.
17. A collection kit must not be used if it does not contain all of the items listed.
18. Only 1 kit may be in the area designated by the Manager for the purpose of urine sample collection at any one time.
19. A collection kit that is placed in a refrigerator under B.05.01 Procedure 21 (h) must remain in that refrigerator until it is collected for transportation to a specified laboratory.
20. The Prison Manager must ensure that a collection kit containing a urine sample is delivered to a specified laboratory reasonably promptly after the procedure set out in B.05.01 Procedures 19, 20, 21 and 22 have been completed.
21. A person who collects a collection kit from a prison for transportation to a specified laboratory must sign the form, and state -
    1. his or her name; and
    2. the date and time of collection of the kit.
22. The laboratory will provide to the Prison Manager a certificate containing the result of the analysis of Sample (A).
23. A copy of the certificate must be given to:
    1. the prisoner who provided the urine sample and
    2. if the result is positive, to a medical officer, or a staff member who is a nurse will certify in writing as to whether the result could be attributed to prescribed medication, and
    3. a copy is placed on the prisoner’s prison record.
24. When the result is positive the Medical Officer or a prison nurse will certify in writing, whether any drug found in the prisoner’s sample could be attributed to any medication administered to the prisoner in accordance with instructions from a health service provider or medical officer.
25. If the Medical Officer or a prison nurse certify in writing, that the drug found in the prisoner’s sample could be attributed to medication administered to the prisoner in accordance with instructions from a health service provider or medical officer the prisoner will not be charged.

Service Outcome

The Drug Detection and Testing initiatives actively contribute to:

• A reduction over time in the number of positive results from random drug tests.
• A reduction over time in the number of drug-related disciplinary charges upheld against prisoners.
• A reduction over time in the number and volume of drug finds in prison.
• Increase over time in the percentage of prisoners who start and complete treatment programmes.

The Department's overarching goal is to reduce re-offending.

Service Delivery Measures

The key measures for determining service levels and for the Department's external reporting are:

• Number of drug tests carried out.
• Number of general random programme drug tests carried out.
• Number of prisoners returning positive results from the general random drug tests (No. and %).
• Number of random drug tests carried out on identified drug users.
• Number of identified drug users returning positive results from the random drug tests (No. and %).
• Number of random drug screening tests carried out on prisoners returning from temporary release.
• Number of prisoners returning from temporary release returning positive results from the random drug tests (No. & %).
• Number of drug screening tests carried out on "reasonable grounds".