Statistics on substance misuse in initial
training establishments
ARMY
1. Compulsory Drug Testing (CDT) statistics
for the calendar years 2001-03 inclusive have been compiled giving
figures for initial training establishments, with overall Army
figures for comparison.
|
| Year | No of
CDT
tests
| No of
Positive
Results
| % rate of
Positive
Results
| Cannabis
% of
Positives
| Ecstasy
% of
Positives
| Cocaine
% of
Positives
|
|
| Initial Training Establishment Statistics
|
| 2001 | 10,400
| 36 | 0.35
| 66 | 16
| 8 |
| 2002 | 12,290
| 49 | 0.40
| 39 | 25
| 23 |
| 2003 | 15,424
| 65 | 0.42
| 55 | 11
| 28 |
| Army Statistics |
| 2001 | 97,405
| 669 | 0.69
| 49 | 29
| 14 |
| 2002 | 88,946
| 534 | 0.60
| 48 | 24
| 18 |
| 2003 | 93,163
| 575 | 0.62
| 52 | 19
| 21 |
|
2. Army policy is clearly set out in Values and Standards:
"Avoid any activity which undermines your professional
ability, or puts others at risk. In particular the misuse of drugs
and abuse of alcohol".
3. Army policy to combat drug misuse is based on the
twin pillars of deterrence and detection. Deterrence focuses on
a comprehensive substance misuse (ie alcohol and drugs) education
and training programme, which covers all phases of an individual's
Army service from recruit training to senior command. Detection
is based on the Compulsory Drug Testing (CDT) programme, which
the Army introduced in 1995 and which became tri-Service by 1998.
The MoD conducts Europe's largest CDT programme (approx 120,000
tests per annum) and is proving effective in reducing detected
drug misuse among Service personnel. The programme was praised
by the Government's then Anti-Drugs Co-ordinator, Keith Hellawell.
4. The Army confronts the danger of drug misuse in an
uncompromising manner, which is reflected first in the comprehensive
education and training programme conducted Army-wide and second
in the scale, frequency and pattern of testing. Army detected
drug misuse remains at about one-tenth of that found in civilian
safety-critical industries where drug-testing is used.
5. All Army recruits are tested during their Phase 1
initial training. This serves both to reinforce the substance
misuse education and training which all recruits receive and imprint
our core Values and Standards; and to introduce them to the drug-testing
regime which will follow them throughout their Army career.
6. Initial training establishments are given the authority,
on request, to conduct smaller drug tests on a more regular basis
than the Field Army—this is to minimise disruption to busy
training programmes. As a result, they have more frequent tests
then Field Army units and use this higher profile of CDT to reinforce
at the earliest stage possible the Army's message of absolute
intolerance of drug misuse.
7. The statistics on individual drug type broadly reflect
the trends in UK society as a whole and do not indicate specific
issues, which are unique to the Army. Among the key findings from
the British Crime Survey (BCS) 2002-03 are the comments that cannabis
is the most frequently used drug, ecstasy use has decreased since
2001-02 and cocaine is the only drug where use has increased.
RAF
Available statistics on substance misuse in RAF initial training
establishments
|
| Year | RAF—No of Trainee Incidences
| Outcome |
|
| 2001 | 1 at RAF Halton
| Positive CDT—Cannabis
|
| 2002 | 1 at RAF Halton
| Positive CDT—Cannabis
|
| 2003 | 2 at RAF Cosford
2 at RAF Halton
| All Positive CDTs:
1 involving Ecstasy.
2 involving Cannabis.
1 not yet known.
|
|
NAVY
CDT Statistics for positive results in RN basic training establishments.
The RN has three training establishments for new recruits:
- BRITANNIA ROYAL NAVAL COLLEGE DARTMOUTH (BRNC)—Officer
Cadets.
- HMS RALEIGH—Rating new entry.
- CTCRM LYMPSTONE—Royal Marine Officer Cadets and new
entry.
Listed below are the statistics for RN personnel that tested
positive in a compulsory drug test since April 1999 to end of
February 2004.
|
| BRNC
Lympstone
| HMS Raleigh | CTCRM
|
|
| 1999 | 0 |
4 | 0
|
| 2000 | 0 |
3 | 0
|
| 2001 | 0 |
1 | 0
|
| 2002 | 1*(staff)
| 6 | 0
|
| 2003 | 1*(staff)
| 1 | 1
|
| 2004 (up to 1 Apr 04) | 0
| 0 | 0
|
|
* Both of these individuals were junior rates working in
the college, one was a steward and one an operator maintainer.
Three of the individuals were retained in service, the rest
were discharged or took premature voluntary retirement (PVR—an
individual can PVR at any time during their initial training)
before the system could discharge them or before the results came
back from the lab.
| 
