Substance abuse exam.pdf

BOCA RATON POLICE SERVICES DEPARTMENT Departmental Standards Directive 52.900 SUBSTANCE ABUSE EXAM Revised: January 13, 2011 I. PURPOSE: The purpose of this directive is to establish procedures for substance abuse examinations for personnel of the Boca Raton Police Services Department. II. POLI...

BOCA RATON POLICE SERVICES DEPARTMENT Departmental Standards Directive 52.900 SUBSTANCE ABUSE EXAM Revised: January 13, 2011 I. PURPOSE: The purpose of this directive is to establish procedures for substance abuse examinations for personnel of the Boca Raton Police Services Department. II. POLICY: To ensure the integrity of the Department, maintain a drug free work environment, and preserve public trust and confidence in physically fit and drug free law enforcement professionals, the Department shall implement a mandatory substance abuse testing program to detect prohibited drug use by employees. Random substance abuse testing shall be conducted following the existing labor agreement and this Department directive. Procedures will be followed for substance abuse testing whenever reasonable suspicion exists to believe an employee is under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol. III. DEFINITIONS: Reasonable Suspicion: A suspicion that has some factual foundation in the circumstances observed by an individual when those circumstances are interpreted in light of the individual’s knowledge and experience. IV. PROCEDURE: A. GUIDELINES: 1. Substance abuse examinations may be conducted using the following guidelines: a. As part of the sworn employee's random substance abuse examination per the contract between the City and the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP). b. If reasonable suspicion exists to believe that an employee is under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol. B. ANNUAL RANDOM SUBSTANCE ABUSE EXAMINATION PROGRAM: 1. RESPONSIBILITY: Effective: July 1, 1991 Revised: January 13, 2011 Substance Abuse Exam Directive No. 52.900 Page 1 of 4 a. The Chief of Police or his/her designee shall be responsible for the identification and notification of all such members to be administered Random Substance Abuse Examinations. 2. RULES AND PROHIBITED ACTIVITIES: a. The following rules and prohibited activities shall apply to all sworn and non-sworn employees, while on and off duty: i. No employee shall illegally possess any controlled substance. ii. No employee shall ingest any controlled substance, unless as prescribed specifically to them by a licensed medical practitioner. iii. Employees shall notify their immediate supervisor when required to use prescription medicine, or any over-the-counter medication that has the potential to impair job performance; i.e., driving motor vehicles, operating equipment, etc. a) The employee shall advise their supervisor of the known side effects of any prescribed medication, and the prescribed period of use. b) The employee may be temporarily reassigned to other duties, when appropriate and in accordance with applicable policies. iv. No employee shall ingest any prescribed or over-the-counter medication in amounts beyond the recommended dosage. 3. SCREENING PROCEDURE: a. The Chief of Police or his/her designee will generate a blind scheduling list of sworn personnel for the mandatory Random Substance Abuse Examination. i. The process shall be conducted annually, with the cycle being each fiscal year. ii. The number of personnel selected on a daily basis may require periodic adjustments to compensate for the number of remaining days in the annual cycle. iii. If sworn personnel who are selected are unavailable within the next 96-hour period, their names shall be re-entered into the list for future selection. iv. The Chief of Police or his/her designee shall provide the names of those sworn members selected to the appropriate division commanders. Effective: July 1, 1991 Revised: January 13, 2011 Substance Abuse Exam Directive No. 52.900 Page 2 of 4 a) The division commanders or their designee, by telephone or by personal contact, will order those selected to report in person to the testing facility for the mandatory Random Substance Abuse Examination. b) Sworn personnel must report as specified to the testing facility after being notified by their division commander or his/her designee. c) If an employee does not arrive to take his/her substance abuse examination, the testing facility will immediately notify the Office of the Chief of Police. d) If an employee does not report for his/her examination an investigation into the employee’s noncompliance will be conducted. v. When the employee appears unable to provide a sample at the time of the test, the employee shall remain in the testing facility waiting room as long as is necessary for the employee to provide an acceptable sample. a) The employee may take reasonable amounts of water to encourage sample production. b) The employee’s failure to submit a sample shall be considered a refusal to submit to a drug test. c) Refusal to submit to testing shall be cause for dismissal. vi. Personnel who, after coming to work and/or being notified of a scheduled substance abuse examination, become too ill to continue to work or make their appointment, will be transported to the testing facility and urine samples will be obtained for the Random Mandatory Substance Abuse Examination. a) If the employee desires, he/she may also schedule an appointment with the City physician or his/her own doctor to diagnose the illness at that time. b) Only the Chief of Police or his/her designee can authorize a change in the above procedures. C. REASONABLE SUSPICION TESTING PROCEDURE FOR SUBSTANCE ABUSE: 1. The City of Boca Raton and the Department have established procedures to follow when reasonable suspicion exists to believe that an employee is under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol. Effective: July 1, 1991 Revised: January 13, 2011 Substance Abuse Exam Directive No. 52.900 Page 3 of 4 2. Procedures during normal working hours, 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m., Monday-Friday are as follows: a. Call the City’s Human Resources Department and speak to the Director or his/her designee. b. Human Resources will make arrangements with the US HealthWorks for urine and blood tests to be taken. c. The on-duty supervisor will transport the employee to US HealthWorks. d. The on-duty supervisor will escort the employee to the Lab, insure initiation of Chain of Custody forms, and sign where appropriate. e. The on-duty supervisor will return the employee to his/her place of residence. f. Personnel will contact a designated person listed in the employee's file to retrieve a personal vehicle, if necessary. 3. Procedures outside of normal working hours are as follows: a. The supervisor will contact the Boca Raton Regional Hospital Lab to arrange for testing (395-7100, ext. #4330). b. The supervisor will follow the procedures listed above in sections C.1.d through C.1.f. 4. When a bargaining unit employee is involved, that employee may request that a bargaining unit representative be present at the time of testing. a. The testing process, however, will not be prolonged to await the arrival of the union representative. b. Bargaining unit representatives will have thirty (30) minutes to arrive or the testing procedure will proceed as agreed. 5. When test results have been determined, the Chief of Police, the immediate supervisor and the employee will be notified, and the appropriate action will be initiated. a. If the test results are positive, Professional Standards will be notified. Approved: Daniel C. Alexander Chief of Police Effective: July 1, 1991 Revised: January 13, 2011 Date: Substance Abuse Exam Directive No. 52.900 Page 4 of 4