As of February 2023, Practitioners will have the ability to drug test People on Probation with a Drug Rehabilitation Requirement (DRR).  

They will carry out the tests during standard probation supervision appointments using a back-to-lab test kit and will receive results back 72 hours after the Lab receives the sample in the post. 

There are two elements to a test that can be carried out, an initial screening which will generally be sufficient for supervision purposes but if necessary for legal purposes an additional confirmatory test will be needed. Staff should only carry out a confirmatory test for legal purposes and I may need to monitor this. On the form accompanying a sample staff must ensure they indicate that the test is a for a person with a DRR.  

Staff will need to use their professional judgement in terms of a response to any positive drug tests as positive drug test results alone should not be used to breach people, rather it is their overall behaviour and risk to the public that needs to be taken into consideration. This decision may be something that myself and a member of my team would discuss. 

The process for ordering tests remains the same as for ordering kits for testing on license, however a new cost code will need to be entered for tests allocated to DRRs. My Corporate Services Team have been briefed and will inform us of the new code and full details of how to procure are on a procurement bulletin, however I should also brief my administrators or team members responsible for ordering the tests. 

My team can access the online training currently available for drug testing in the community, and these sessions will increase in frequency from February.