Pubdate: Tue, 19 Jul 2005 Source: Intelligencer, The (WV) Copyright: 2005 The Intelligencer & Wheeling News Register Contact: http://www.theintelligencer.net/news/feedback.asp Website: http://www.theintelligencer.net/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1633 Author: Gabe Wells DRUG TESTING KITS ISSUED IN BELMONT COUNTY MARTINS FERRY - After growing concern over drug-impaired drivers, Belmont County's prosecutor and police chiefs have teamed to obtain drug testing devices for each county police agency. Belmont County Prosecutor Chris Berhalter on Tuesday announced that testing kits to determine drug use by impaired drivers will be issued to every law enforcement agency in Belmont County. The announcement was made at a news conference at the Martins Ferry City Building, and Berhalter said the kits will be distributed to county police departments through the Ohio State Highway Patrol. The Ohio State Highway Patrol Crime Lab has also agreed to perform testing on those kits. Berhalter said he sought the kits for Belmont County police departments after speaking to Martins Ferry Police Department Sgt. John Bumba who told Berhalter the department has had an increasing problem with motorists driving under the influence of drugs and not just alcohol. Bumba told the prosecutor that the Martins Ferry department had no way of testing these individuals, and no evidence could be gathered to stop them. Berhalter said he immediately looked into the matter and learned that only Post 7 of the Ohio State Highway Patrol had the test kit to determine if drivers were impaired by drugs. "If someone is under the influence of alcohol and driving, the individual can be tested by a breathalyzer machine which almost every police department has," Berhalter said. "However, that machine doesn't test for drugs. When I spoke to our police chiefs in our county about the issue, they all agreed that this was a problem that needed to be addressed. "Now, with this evidence, we have the ability to remove a driver impaired by drugs from our road," he added. "This is just another example of how we are working together to make Belmont County safer." Martins Ferry Police Department Assistant Chief Phil Hartman said the kits will be an asset in the city. "As a result of open communication and cooperation between local law enforcement, combined with the generosity of the Belmont County Prosecutor's Office, we are provided with another tool for the collection of evidence," Hartman said. "These kits are greatly appreciated and citizens will be pleased to know that law enforcement will be using these kits while taking suspected DUI and drug users off the streets." - --- MAP posted-by: SHeath(DPFFlorida)