The Guelph Police Service’s Drug Unit is hoping to invest in some additional equipment to identify different narcotics for future investigations, while Traffic Services is hoping to receive a roadside drug detector in the near future.
Chief Jeff DeRuyter said during Thursday’s Police Services Board meeting that the department has put an expression of interest in to the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services for one of a limited number of Draeger DrugTest 5000 roadside detectors that are being made available to police departments across the province.
DeRuyter previously told GuelphToday the department was taking a wait-and-see approach to the machines, which cost about $6,000 Canadian.
The ministry is offering the machines by way of funds being made available from the federal government.
Despite the awareness and education around using drugs and driving, DeRuyter said Guelph Police are already laying charges. On Nov. 5, a Waterloo man was charged with impaired driving after officers detected a strong odour of marijuana.
“In the first month it’s already showing up,” said DeRuyter
During a presentation from the department’s Drug Unit during the meeting, Detective Sergeant Benjamin Bair told the police board that Guelph Police hopes to acquire two new devices — an ion scanner and a Raman scanner — to quickly detect the presence of suspected narcotics found during investigations.
A traditional toxicology lab test can take six to nine months to be returned, said Bair, while results from the two scanners the department hopes to acquire come back in a much more timely manner.
Waiting nine months for a toxicology report can stall an investigation or send it on the wrong path, said Bair, whereas having the scanners available in the department can allow the Drug Unit to identify substances right away or eliminate dead ends.
“That gives you a really good place to start,” said Bair. “It may also give you grounds to write a search warrant for their phone, and that phone ends up as part of your investigation.”
“Rather than wasting six to nine months of going down the wrong track, you’re at least focused in the right direction from the front end,” said Bair.
As a side benefit, the two devices are also able to detect explosives and explosive material.
The scanners cost between $35,000 and $100,000 each. At this time, the Guelph Police has not formally requested the two scanners.
