Mary Cunneen, associate director of Liberty, says:

"We welcome the aim of breaking the link between drug use and crime. But they should not be testing people before conviction - to tackle the link between drugs and crime, they should first prove someone is guilty of a crime. Under the present scheme, someone mistakenly arrested and innocent of any offence could refuse to take a drug test - and find themselves criminalised simply for that. Voluntary drug referral schemes work well in police stations; mandatory tests should be kept until after conviction".

27th July 2001