Random drug/substance testing for law enforcement officers when reporting for shifts has generated a contentious debate. The proponents and opponents of the policy have provided various reasons to justify their arguments. The nature of police tasks and their equipment of work demands that they take a personal responsibility in ensuring that they are fit to carry out their duties. A single police officer can create great harm both to themselves and other people when their actions are influenced by misuse of drugs/substances. Previous instances of testing have indicated that some police officers report for their shifts when they are intoxicated (American Addiction Center, 2019). There some people that argue that the nature of police work necessitates the use of drugs/substances. They are sometimes involved in violent situations that warrant intoxication. Despite the contrary justifications, it is proper for police organizations or administrations to test police officers that are coming into shifts to ensure that they are fit to conduct their duties efficiently.
Discussion
Drug/alcohol testing is aimed at ensuring that police officers are fit to conduct their duties. The tasks of police officers are too much involving hence requires a sober mind to facilitate a critical outlook of incidences (Ivković, Haberfeld, Lim, & Sloan, 2016). There are cases of when law enforcement officers have been accused of using too much force or going against the law when handling members of the public or suspected criminals. In some instances, the officers have been accused of being intoxicated with drugs. Such accusations point out to the problem caused by going for shifts when one has misused drugs/alcohol. Use of drugs/alcohol has the potential to impair the reasoning of an individual. The departmental policy of law enforcement officers outlines that individual have to be free of any impairment when they report for duty (Ivković, Haberfeld, Lim, & Sloan, 2016). Besides, there is a policy that guides officers’ behavior regarding the use of drugs and alcohol. They are at a risk of breaching the statutory when they report to work while intoxicated. Evidence from other professionals indicates that employees occasionally make mistakes when they report to work when they are intoxicated. In the same way, the law enforcement officers are also at a risk of making mistakes when they report for their shifts when they have misused drugs/alcohol.
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Subjecting law enforcement officers to drug/alcohol test when coming into shifts is important because it helps creating a safe work environment for the other officers. The nature of the tasks involved in law enforcement is sensitive hence any form of impairment exposes fellow officers to danger. Police officers are provided with guns and other law enforcement equipment that have to be handled with care. When law enforcement officers report to work while intoxicated, they expose other officers to danger because they can improperly handle the equipment leading to accidental shooting of another officer or inappropriate release of teargas canisters thus causing harm (Doran et al., 2017). In some instances, the officers may become infuriated with another officer due to their condition and harm them. When involved in an operation, officers have to work collaboratively to overcome criminals. Impaired officers can jeopardize an operation thus leading to harming of other officers. Departmental policies also recognize the harm that is posed to other officers when an operation is prejudiced. They thus advocate for screening of officers in safety critical roles. The implementation of the policy of random testing is thus meant to create a safe work environment for other officers.
Screening of officers for drug/alcohol misuse before coming into shifts is appropriate because it help in the identification of officers that have a problem with substances. There are instances when some law enforcement officers become addicted to drugs/alcohol but are unable to share with their seniors or other officers so that they can be treated. Subjecting officers to random screening may lead to the identification of officers that are addicted to drugs or alcohol. The police administration can then refer them for treatment before they are much affected to continue with the duties of a police officer. It will allow the law enforcement officers to acknowledge that they have a problem thus making it easy for departments that provide support service to attend to them (Ivković, Haberfeld, Lim, & Sloan, 2016). In the end, they will get over the addiction problem and resume normal duties. The force recognizes that some officers may be subjected to malicious allegations. The police administration thus covers it within its policies to protect officers that may be vulnerable to malicious allegations.
The police administration is supposed to act as a role model to other members of the public because they are responsible for enforcement of law. They are supposed to arrest and place into custody people that are involved in the consumption of banned substances. They also ensure that people who are drunk do not engage in behaviors that may be a nuisance to the public (Stinson Sr, 2015). Therefore, having a police officer who is intoxicated in a shift places the reputation of the organization at risk. Members of the public will lose confidence in the officers to enforce such policies. Besides, intoxicated police officers may have excess force directed to the members of the public that are suspected to have committed a criminal offense. To protect the image of the police force, it is thus necessary to conduct screening of officers so that those identified as having misused drugs/alcohol are not allowed to get into shifts.
The police organization has a responsibility to ensure that money allocated to them is used for the appropriate purposes. Officers that report to shifts when they have misused substances have the potential to break law or use excessive force that may result in the victims seeking compensation from the police organization (Stinson Sr, 2015). Besides, the administration also has the responsibility to keep the officers’ health insurance costs down. When officers report for duty while intoxicated, they are at a risk of harming themselves and other officers. It will thus drive the costs of health insurance up. However, with screening, cases of injuries cause by accidents may not arise.
Union Collective Bargaining Agreements emphasize the need to have an inclusive policy to avoid interfering with employee morale and motivation due to unpopular policies. The safety of officers, reputation of police organization and safety of the general public is important. Besides, fears of targeting officers with the malicious allegations can be dealt with through establishment of a chain of custody for all the tests that are conducted (Doran et al., 2017). Each individual being tested will be given knowledge about the tests so that they understand the procedure. Any medications that need to be taken would also be documented. The screening officers would be required to maintain evidential integrity of the samples.
Conclusion
Police organizations have to conduct screening of law enforcement officers before they get into shifts to ensure that the work environment remains safe for all the officers. Conducting the screening tests is also important because it will ensure that the reputation of the police organization is not tainted as a result of constant lawsuits due to misuse of authority of breaking of the law. All the officers that report to duty will get into their shifts when they are motivated and ready for their duties. The tests will also help in reducing the costs of health insurance that caters for the officers’ injuries.
References
American Addiction Centers (2019). Substance Abuse Among Police. Retrieved from https://americanaddictioncenters.org/police
Doran, G. S., Deans, R., De Filippis, C., Kostakis, C., & Howitt, J. A. (2017). Work place drug testing of police officers after THC exposure during large volume cannabis seizures. Forensic science international , 275 , 224-233.
Ivković, S. K., Haberfeld, M. R., Lim, H., & Sloan, J. J. (2016). Police officer integrity: a partial replication and extension. Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management .
Stinson Sr, P. M. (2015). Police crime: The criminal behavior of sworn law enforcement officers. Sociology Compass , 9 (1), 1-13.
