Pubdate: Sat, 08 Jul 2000
Source: Trenton Times, The (NJ)
Copyright: 2000 The Times.
Contact:  http://www.njo.com/times/
Forum: http://forums.nj.com/
Author: Nick Manetto, Staff Writer

NO ESCAPING DRUG TESTS, EVEN FOR TOP PROSECUTOR

Leaders often say they like to lead by example.

Mercer County Prosecutor Daniel G. Giaquinto recently put that ideal to the 
test by volunteering to be the first person in his office tested for 
illegal drugs under a policy he issued in December.

All police officers, sheriff's deputies and investigators in the 
prosecutor's offices in both Mercer and Burlington counties are now 
required to undergo random drug testing.

In Mercer, even prosecutors are subject to the tests, which is not the case 
in Burlington. If an officer is detected using drugs, he or she will be 
fired and barred from working in law enforcement in New Jersey. But the 
names of those fired will not be released.

"I thought it was important that if the tests were mandated for the 
detectives of this office and the police officers of this county, I'd also 
mandate them for the prosecutors of this office," Giaquinto said.

Mercer County police departments were ordered to have policies and 
procedures for the tests in place by March 1 so testing could begin two 
months later. So far, Trenton, Princeton Township, Lawrence, West Windsor 
and East Windsor have conducted tests, Giaquinto said.

IN BURLINGTON, the policy was announced in February and was to go into 
effect July 1, according to county Prosecutor Robert D. Bernardi. But not 
all towns have developed testing procedures and some are still reviewing 
the policy wording.

No officers in Burlington have been tested yet, and because of the late 
start, only one test will be required this year, Bernardi said.

William Kearns, the municipal attorney for some Burlington County towns, 
including Willingboro, said he expects the municipalities will all agree to 
drug-testing procedures this summer.

"I think everyone is in agreement that drug testing is appropriate and that 
someone who is using drugs shouldn't be there as a law enforcement 
officer," he said. The debate, he said, focuses on the process and fairness 
of the tests.

The policy issued by the prosecutor, he said, does not clearly establish a 
hearing process for officers who might test positive and provide for a 
review of the test itself.

"We want to make sure when we adopt the policy that we're not opening up 
other legal issues," Kearns added. Once fully operational, 30 percent of 
each police department in Mercer and 20 percent of the departments in 
Burlington must be tested each year. Two tests must be done each year, but 
departments can conduct more, and test more officers than required. "If 
every officer believes 20 to 30 percent are subject to giving a sample any 
given day -- that should have a deterrent effect we're looking for," 
Giaquinto said.

Giaquinto, who is a judge advocate, or lawyer, in the Army National Guard, 
said he developed his idea from similar testing programs used in the military.

"I'M CONVINCED that a random drug-testing program is a very effective 
deterrent to illegal drug use."

Both prosecutors said they decided to use drug testing not as a reaction to 
drug abuse by police officers but to prevent such problems.

"I think the rationale is that you want to ensure that police officers who 
are carrying weapons are not under the influence of drugs (that might 
impair) their judgment," Bernardi said.

But Giaquinto did say that if testing had been in place earlier, it may 
have caught officers who were found using illegal drugs.

The prosecutors developed their testing policies in accordance with 
guidelines handed down by the state attorney general's office in 1998.

The chiefs of each department are responsible for deciding when the tests 
will be done, and the dates will be tightly guarded secrets, prosecutors said.

The officers will give their samples in private unless officials suspect 
some deception, Bernardi said. The samples will be analyzed by the state 
police laboratory. If an officer chooses, he or she can request that the 
sample be divided. If the first specimen tests positive for illegal drugs, 
he or she can have the other sample, which would be secured in each 
department, analyzed by another lab picked by the officer, as long as the 
facility is certified to conduct drug tests.

The tests cost about $20 each, and the Mercer Prosecutor's Office will use 
forfeiture money to fund the process for the first two years, Giaquinto 
said. If a department wants to test more than 30 percent of its officers, 
it would have to cover that cost on its own.

IN BURLINGTON, the prosecutor's office will use similar funds to pay for 
the test, but only for this year. Giaquinto said there is a "very good 
possibility" he will require more tests in the prosecutor's office.

The Trenton Police Department will also likely test more than the required 
30 percent, according to department spokesman Sgt. John Schroeder.

In Trenton, each officer has an identifier that can be randomly picked out 
of a bowl during a lottery observed by union and administration officials, 
Schroeder said. "We've had no problems and no positive results," he added.

All officers who tests positive will be reported to the prosecutors, but 
the office will disclose only the number of officers, if any, that test 
positive, not their names.

No officer screened so far in Mercer has tested positive, Giaquinto said.

The name of a fired officer, he said, would be entered into a central 
registry operated by the state police, which will prevent the officer from 
being rehired in New Jersey.

Criminal charges could not be filed against any officer who tests positive, 
Bernardi said, because the samples are collected without search warrants. 
If a warrant was procured and an officer tested positive, he or she could 
be charged with a crime. Though the public won't know which officers, if 
any, test positive, Giaquinto said firing is an adequate deterrent.
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