Water police crack down on boat drug-drivers
FAR North boaties beware – local water police have warned drug testing will become even more prevalent after they received specialist training and new equipment.
Cairns Water Police boss Sergeant Andy Ibell said about one in five boat operators had previously tested positive to illicit substances and the police would now be expanding their reach to test more people across the region, including in Cape York and the Gulf.
He said two Cairns-based officers had been given expert testing in drug testing as part of a statewide blitz on drugusing boaties and this would be further expanded.
“What we’ve seen so far … (is) the number of positive tests is certainly comparable to what we see on the roads,” Sgt Ibell said.
“It’s concerning and what we also know is a lot of the positive tests come from operators in remote areas … where there is a higher chance that if something goes wrong, there will be a lot longer response time (from emergency services).”
He said waterways such as Lake Tinaroo would also be patrolled by water police.
The testing will be targeting all vessels, including recreational boats, commercial fishing boats, tourist vessels and barges.
Drug tests do not register the quantity of the substance in a person’s system, just a positive or negative reading.