Drug Use in the Police Force

Over the last few years, police caught out doing drugs seems to occupy a regular position in newspaper headlines.

The latest to be exposed is Peter Betts, a detective once given a bravery award for saving the life of a drowning man.

His career ended after just one ecstasy tablet and two vials of steroids were found when police searched his house and car.

Betts resigned and apologised in court, claiming that he took the drugs to combat depression, which he linked to his time on Palm Island.

He was one of the last police officers to escape from Palm Island police station before it was burnt down during the Palm Island riots.

The magistrate accepted that explanation, but nevertheless believed that his conduct was unacceptable for a person who was supposed to uphold and enforce the law.

He was given a fine, but escaped getting a criminal record – which is a sentencing option in Queensland but not in NSW.

This is just another example in a long list of recent police misconduct – which has included corruption, brutality and serious crimes including child sex offences.

Betts had just joined an elite drug squad operating in Surfers Paradise.

It has since been revealed that senior officers had long held reservations about a dedicated drug squad operating in an area which could tempt junior officers to step outside the law.

Betts had also participated in another drug bust – Operation Kilo Fraction, which was one of the largest drug investigations on the coast, resulting in over 400 charges against 152 suspects.

The charge against Betts has led to further investigations of police operating on the Queensland coast.

Drug use by police officers has been known to occur in NSW as well.

Shane Diehm is perhaps one of the most well-known examples of this.

And even Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione is in hot water, after comments intended to downplay the fact that hundreds of NSW police officers have been convicted of criminal offences.

Earlier in the year, it was reported that one in every 40 police officers in NSW has committed an offence, including drug offences.

This totals 437 police officers serving with criminal records – including convictions for drug offences.

It is claimed that the information Scipione gave about the number of police with criminal records is inaccurate, when he stated that the majority of those convictions were for minor charges like low range drink driving only.

This statement proved to be untrue and he is now under investigation by the Police Integrity Commission.

After an earlier investigation into the NSW Police Force, that took place in the 1990s, a policy for the drug and alcohol testing of officers was implemented.

Today, according to the NSW Police Force website, controlling the misuse of alcohol and drugs is essential to the effectiveness of the Police Force.

The policy is ostensibly uncompromising on its stance that officers must not do illegal drugs or use any steroids unless they are prescribed by a suitably qualified medical practitioner.

In order to implement this, random drug and alcohol testing may be carried out on police officers at any time – either on or off duty.

The policy states that there is no place in the police force for officers who use, sell or supply illegal drugs or anabolic steroids.

Yet the problem persists.

Shane Diehm’s sentencing Magistrate gave him a prison sentence, hoping to deter other officers from following his footsteps.

It is important for police, who are supposed to protect the community and abide by the laws, to actually obey them.

If the very people enforcing the law cannot be trusted to do so, the Police Force will have little credibility and even less respect.