Call for officer substance tests

The police in Jersey should be tested for drugs and alcohol, a report says.

A report by Her Majesty's Inspectors of Constabulary proposes the measures after recent internal investigations and action against several officers.

The plans are outlined in a new police law pending for Jersey. Her Majesty's Inspectors recommend the force develops an appropriate policy for testing.

Jersey Police said the comments refer to a couple of cases where no further action was taken.

Chief Officer Graham Power said he did not want to play down the seriousness of the issue but it had to be taken in context with other priorities.

Over-stretched

The report also advises all officers have forensic training, as the constabulary says the existing forensic service is stretched.

Officers could be taught about fingerprint and DNA sampling, and how to preserve a crime scene.

The report calls for all-encompassing crime strategy.

It also found Jersey Police had a high detection rate of crime solving (about 40% compared with 26% in the UK).

The island has a low burglary rate compared to the UK, with 6.7 domestic burglaries per 1,000 compared to 15.6 per 1,000 in the UK.