Drug testing sworn law enforcement officers: One agency's experience

Police Crime: The Criminal Behavior of Sworn Law Enforcement Officers

“…Lersch and Mieczkowski () report results of drug tests conducted in a large police agency in the Eastern United States in which very few officers tested positive. Scholars often point out, however, that official drug tests are likely influenced by (a) “announcement effects” and the fact that officers employed by these agencies are aware of testing protocols (Lersch and Mieczkowski , 292), and (b) the method of drug testing. Cocaine is the most frequently detected drug based on hair analysis, and marijuana is the most frequently detected drug based on urinalysis (Lersch and Mieczkowski ; Mieczkowski ; Mieczkowski and Lersch ).…”

“…Scholars often point out, however, that official drug tests are likely influenced by (a) “announcement effects” and the fact that officers employed by these agencies are aware of testing protocols (Lersch and Mieczkowski , 292), and (b) the method of drug testing. Cocaine is the most frequently detected drug based on hair analysis, and marijuana is the most frequently detected drug based on urinalysis (Lersch and Mieczkowski ; Mieczkowski ; Mieczkowski and Lersch ). More recently, Stinson et al () found that cocaine is the most prevalent drug in drug‐related police corruption arrest cases.…”

“…More recent data derived from self-report surveys of officers in a single agency in Australia suggest that police use a wider variety of drugs including marijuana, amphetamines, cocaine, ecstasy, heroine, ketamine, and non-prescribed steroids (Gorta 2009). Lersch and Mieczkowski (2005a) report results of drug tests conducted in a large police agency in the Eastern United States in which very few officers tested positive. Scholars often point out, however, that official drug tests are likely inf luenced by (a) "announcement effects" and the fact that officers employed by these agencies are aware of testing protocols (Lersch and Mieczkowski 2005a, 292), and (b) the method of drug testing.…”

A study of drug‐related police corruption arrests

“…Of course, the results of formalized drug testing protocols could be attributed at least in part to "announcement effects" and the fact that officers employed by these agencies were aware of testing protocols (Lersch and Mieczkowski, 2005, p. 292). Also, scholars often point out that drug test results are significantly influenced by the method of testing, with cocaine the most frequently detected drug based on hair analysis and marijuana the most frequently detected drug based on urinalysis (Mieczkowski, 2002;Mieczkowski and Lersch, 2002;Lersch and Mieczkowski, 2005). Kraska and Kappeler (1988) used participant observation and unstructured interviews of police in one medium-sized agency (50 sworn officers) to provide what is widely-cited as the only empirical description of on-duty drug use by police.…”

“…Over 81 percent of the positive tests in Boston involved the use of cocaine, and police executives indicated that they believed cocaine had surpassed marijuana as the drug of choice among police (Smalley, 2006). Lersch and Mieczkowski (2005) reported results of drug tests conducted in a large police agency in the Eastern USA in which “very few” officers tested positive (∼0.005 percent). Of course, the results of formalized drug testing protocols could be attributed at least in part to “announcement effects” and the fact that officers employed by these agencies were aware of testing protocols (Lersch and Mieczkowski, 2005, p. 292).…”