Victoria Police missing 775 drug drivers who posed ‘unacceptable risk’

Victoria Police’s roadside drug testing program is missing hundreds of opportunities to charge drivers on drugs due to inefficient testing

A new report has found Victoria Police’s roadside drug testing program is inefficient. Picture: Ian Currie

Victoria Police’s roadside drug testing program let off 775 drivers who were on drugs but falsely tested negative to illicit substances over a two-year period, a new report has discovered.

A Victorian Auditor-General’s report probing the effectiveness of the state’s drug testing regime on motorists found that while the program has a positive effect on road safety, it is not fully effective.

That, the report said, is because Victoria Police doesn’t monitor whether officers are actually complying with program rules and there is no clear process to allocate the limited supply of drug tests across the state.

“This means Victoria Police may miss opportunities to reduce drug-related harm and make the most of the program’s limited number of tests,” the report stated.

It has been a horror year on Victorian roads, with 274 people killed – a nearly 20 per cent increase on the same time last year.

Despite drug driving contributing to 30 per cent of road deaths, Victoria Police only receives funding for 150,000 preliminary oral fluid tests each year, which represents just three per cent of the driving public.

A new report has probed the effectiveness of Victoria’s roadside drug testing program. Picture: Ian Currie

The report said Victoria Police “lacks a clear, evidence-based rationale” for how it splits its availability of tests, highlighting concerns that Road Policing Command assigns most of its resources to bus-based testing which has different enforcement outcomes to car-based testing.

Between 2012-12 to 2021-22, bus-based testing had a strike rate of 1.9 per cent (or 2 detections for every 100 tests), while car-based testing picked up 12 detections for every 100 tests.

The issue of false negative results was assessed by Victoria Police last year following concerns that many drivers had passed their oral fluid test (OFT) after failing the preliminary test (POFT) and admitting to recent drug use.

The Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine examined 1250 negative oral test samples and found 775 – or 62 per cent – actually contained prosecutable amounts of one or more prescribed illicit drugs.

A Victoria Police spokesman said while those 775 tests posed an “unacceptable risk, it is important to note these samples represent only 0.25 per cent of the 300,000 drug tests conducted over the two years reviewed”.

“We are assessing whether Victoria Police can pursue legislative change so in future drivers who test negative on an oral fluid test can be charged if laboratory testing later detects illicit drugs in their system,” he said.

Victoria Police said letting off those 775 tests posed an “unacceptable risk”. Picture: Ian Currie Picture: Nicki Connolly

Cops are required to upload a digital record – known as a field contact report – to an online database if they ping an alleged offender, but the report found this is not being monitored.

Between 1 July and 30 November 2022, police reported 4227 positive oral fluid tests but only submitted 1900 field contact reports.

The police spokesman said the force is “committed to constantly improving the way we detect and remove drug drivers from the road”.

A Victorian government spokeswoman said this year’s budget provided nearly $26m to ensure police can continue to deliver roadside drug testing.

“It continues to be incredibly disappointing that people are choosing to endanger themselves and others by taking drugs and getting behind the wheel – especially with the road toll at such a high level,” she said.