Explanatory note

These Regulations amend the Police Regulations 2003 in a number of respects with regard to testing for the consumption of controlled drugs or alcohol. The amendments allow for the testing of any member of a police force as part of a routine random testing regime, rather than the testing of members in particular categories or particular circumstances. They allow a sample of hair, rather than oral fluid or urine, to be taken for the purposes of testing a candidate for appointment to a police force. They also replace references to saliva in the Police Regulations 2003 with references to oral fluid, while defining oral fluid so as to include saliva. This last is a technical amendment to reflect the fact that the substance recovered by oral testing is a fluid containing, but not consisting entirely of, saliva.