Police admit drug field testing equipment is not 100% accurate.

MA - A lawyer for an accused drug dealer whose Suffolk Superior Court charges were the first to be tossed out yesterday in the wake of a state drug lab scandal claims a police detective lied to a grand jury “to explain the results that came out of the lab” handled by accused state drug chemist Annie Dookhan, a shocking allegation that brought a sharp response from prosecutors, police and even the judge.

Judge Carol S. Ball accepted prosecutors’ request to drop cocaine distribution charges against Jeffrey Solomon, also known as Jeffrey Banks, yesterday. But Solomon’s lawyer, Victoria Kelleher, also claimed that Sgt. Detective Donald Keehan “perjured himself” in testimony to a grand jury.

According to the grand jury minutes, Keenan said the initial field test of the substance he seized did not turn up a positive “blue” indicator. The evidence he believed to be crack cocaine, he said, “might not have been consistent and I may have grabbed a part where it wasn’t cocaine.”

Under questioning, he testified he later saw the same evidence again and that there was “a small piece in there that’s blue ... the color (that) would come up for a positive result of cocaine.”

But Kelleher said state police retested the sample and it was negative. “It’s simply impossible that it would’ve ever turned blue,” she said.

“We reject the assertion the officer perjured himself,” a spokesman for Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said. “The issue at hand was the officer’s field test, and he states unequivocally that the substance field tested negative for cocaine.”

Boston police said Keenan has an “unblemished record” and was truthful.

“In this highly charged environment many are taking the opportunity to suggest others are involved in wrongdoing,” the statement said, explaining the field tests police use are not 100 percent accurate.

The judge warned Kelleher that she was a making a “very strong allegation.” Ball said, “The Suffolk
County District Attorney’s Office is acting with honor in these cases.”

As the state drug lab crisis widens, Conley said as many as 300 or 400 defendants — some violent offenders — could be released in Boston alone although of 19 cases reviewed yesterday in Boston Municipal Court, only five turned out to have a connection to the chemist accused of tainting evidence, calling it a “tremendous waste of time.”
http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view/20221006perjury_allegation_prompts_judges_rebuke/

New handheld device helps police identify drugs.

Quincy, MA -  The small box that Detective Lt. Patrick Glynn holds in his hand looks like a game console, but within seconds, it's clear he's using the device for more serious business.

The device uses a low-power laser to scan small bags of drugs and gives police near-instant identification.

Quincy police who have been testing the new device say it saves them time and money and could eventually help them more quickly dispose of the hundreds of drug cases they handle each year.

The device, developed by Waltham-based Thermo Fisher Scientific, is being rolled out Wednesday for sale to police departments. The company has been testing the Thermo Scientific TruNarc with police departments around the country, including Boston, Chicago and Los Angeles.

In Quincy, where police have been using the device for about six months, drug detectives say it makes identifying drugs easier, less dangerous and less expensive.

"It's a much simpler process," Glynn said. "It eliminates the need for multiple tests."

Traditionally, police do field testing to identify drugs using chemical test kits. The substance is put into a plastic pouch containing vials of chemicals. Then, the officer breaks the vials inside the pouch, shakes the pouch and the substance turns a certain color. For example, cocaine comes back blue.

Each substance has a specific testing kit, so officers sometimes have to use three or four kits before they get a positive reading on the substance they are testing. That kind of testing also requires officers to handle the drugs and leaves room for accidental spills and exposure to the substances.

The kits are used for presumptive testing only, in the initial stages of an arrest. Samples are then sent to a state laboratory for confirmatory tests, which can take weeks or months, causing long delays in prosecuting the cases in court, Glynn said.

The new device uses the same scientific technique used in the laboratory but allows officers to use it in the field at the time of arrest, said Maura Fitzpatrick, senior director of safety and security for Thermo Scientific portable optical analyzers. The technique, called Raman spectroscopy, captures the difference in each chemical compound's vibrational frequencies to differentiate between compounds.

Handheld Raman instruments, called spectrometers, have been used for field identification of explosives and hazardous chemicals. The TruNarc uses the same technique to identify numerous narcotics with a single test, Fitzpatrick said. To use the device, the officer presses the sample bag against the nose cone, then presses a scan button. A low-power laser shines on the sample, and the light reflects back into the device. The light spectrum is collected and compared to a library within the instrument, which then produces a match.

"It's really a simple point and shoot. You hold it up to the sample, it does a quick analysis and then it gives you a result," Fitzpatrick said.

"It is the same technology being used in the lab," Glynn said. "The ultimate goal is that the court will accept this."
http://www.salemnews.com/region/x1826118307/New-handheld-device-helps-police-identify-drugs

 Massachusetts guide to evidence 2012 edition: 
 http://www.mass.gov/courts/sjc/guide-to-evidence/massguidetoevidence.pdf

Here's another drug field testing company:

 Centice "Narcotics Identification System"Mobile Field Lab-3000

"A cost-effective, easy to use narcotics identification system, designed for the field law enforcement professional. Centice's patented technology can identify over 3,600 illegal narcotics, cutting agents and prescription drugs in seconds." 

• MFL-3000 is all you need

• Most cost effective solution on the market ($13,900) –
  Ideal use of forfeiture funds for identification of substance.

• Identifies over 3,600 illicit narcotics, cutting agents and controlled prescription drugs in seconds

• Learn to operate in minutes

• Non-destructive test requires minimal contact with evidence –
  Ability to examine substances in plastic bags and glass vials.

• User created database enables law enforcement to track illegal narcotic “formulas” throughout a jurisdiction –
  Be able to show origins of street drugs and aid in identifying distributors and manufacturers.

• Designed for field use –
  Battery lasts 6 hours and can be recharged in car. No internet access needed.

• Perfect “loadout” tool –
  House in an industrial strength, waterproof Pelican® case with insulated foam for shock absorption.

• Industry-standard communication interface –
  sends data directly to crime labs in a manner that is suitable for drug analysis and confirmatory examination

 Are the results of the MFL-3000 admissible in court?

 Yes. "The DOJ has declared Raman Spectroscopy a valid science for the examination of evidence. The MFL-3000 uses a Raman Spectrometer, which is recognized for its design excellence and has been proven in the marketplace for over four years. However, no case where the MFL-3000 was used has been brought to trial. Centice will back any jurisdiction with expert scientific testimony if required."

https://centice.com/narcotics-identification-system?gclid=CJCUqdfN7LICFcV9OgodplQAJg

 Field test of on-site drug detection devices: Research and data collection guidelines

 (Will using police and company employees give you unbiased results?)

ISA Associates, Inc. and the University of Utah's Center for Human Toxicology (CHT) are conducting a field test of on-site drug testing devices for use by law enforcement personnel. The primary purpose of the field test is to determine the accuracy and utility of commercially available on-site drug testing devices when used by trained police personnel. The study is being funded by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

The project has multiple objectives. The first objective is to ensure that the best commercially available on-site screening devices - for the purposes of police detection of drug presence" are being assessed. We will be evaluating the accuracy of the devices against the most accurate laboratory standard available - GC/MS testing. However, perhaps the key distinguishing feature of this project is that it is a field test. NHTSA and the Center for Human Toxicology have already conducted a thorough laboratory test of the leading on-site drug screening devices. The goal of this project is to assess how well these devices perform when placed in the hands of trained law enforcement personnel as they conduct their routine duties. Techniques that perform well in the laboratory may falter when brought into the "real world" of law enforcement. The research will evaluate how law enforcement officers can use these screening devices as supporting evidence in the detection of drugs in the driving population.

Persons working in jobs and professions that deal with the behavior of people have a moral duty toward these people. Social science research is one of these occupations, and researchers must honor the ethics of the profession. Thus, all information obtained from participants is privileged, and the Research Analyst must respect their confidentiality and privacy completely.

The Research Analyst will have confidential information about the participant to which they would not normally have access. Your protection of all information about participants gained during the conduct of research is, therefore, essential. We have promised participants that we will not reveal the results of their tests (unless they provide their consent). Participants' data will be combined with those of others in the data collection and the results will be reported as group percentages and totals in such a way that no participants name could be associated with any results.

IT IS YOUR DUTY TO KEEP THE PROMISE OF CONFIDENTIALITY. NEVER TELL FACTS ABOUT, OR REVEAL INFORMATION ABOUT ANY PARTICIPANT.

Information or results collected during the study can be shared only with the research team, whose members are under the same ethical and moral duty to the people interviewed as you are.

The purpose of the this study is to determine the accuracy and utility of commercially available on-site drug testing devices when used by trained police personnel. The data that will be collected will be used solely to determine the validity, reliability, and utility of these devices for the enforcement of DUI laws. At no time will the results of the tests be used to prosecute the research participants. The results of the data collection will be summarized in reports to NHTSA, published reports, and articles on the study. These reports and articles will be disseminated to interested practitioners, policy makers, and researchers across the U.S., and should be of special interest to law enforcement practitioners. All results will be reported in group fashion, with no individual identities revealed.
 
The Research Analyst is to assist ISA in actual data collection. You will have primary contact with the law enforcement officers and, to some extent, the research participants. The data we collect will only be as good as the researchers who conduct the data collection. Private and public agencies will depend on accuracy of the data collected to make decisions that may affect people in all walks of life. Therefore, the Research Analyst's job is especially important and meaningful.

The Research Analyst must conduct the tests in an objective, unbiased manner and assist the law enforcement officers to also conduct the tests in a uniform and unbiased manner. 
http://www.nhtsa.gov/people/injury/research/pub/onsitedetection/Drugs_AppA.htm

Green laser pointer allegedly identifies traces of dangerous chemicals in real-time.

Washington, D. C. - By using an ordinary green laser pointer, the kind commonly found in offices and college lecture halls, an Israeli research team has developed a new and highly portable Raman spectrometer that can detect extremely minute traces of hazardous chemicals in real time. The new sensor’s compact design makes it an excellent candidate for rapid field deployment to disaster zones and areas with security concerns. The researchers will present their findings at Laser Science XXVIII—the American Physical Society Division of Laser Science’s Annual Meeting—collocated with the Optical Society’s (OSA) Annual Meeting, Frontier in Optics (FiO), taking place in Rochester, N.Y. next week.
Raman spectrometers rely on highly focused beams of light at precise wavelengths to illuminate small samples of materials. Very sensitive detectors then study the spectra of light that has been re-emitted, or scattered, by the sample. Most of this scattered light retains its original frequency or color, but a very small percentage of that light is shifted ever so slightly to higher or lower wavelengths, depending on the unique vibrational modes of the sample being studied. By comparing the shifted and the original wavelengths, it’s possible to determine the precise chemicals present in the sample.

The researchers brought this capability down to size by constructing their Raman spectrometer using a low-power and low-cost commercial green laser pointer. The green laser’s relatively short wavelength helped to improve the detection of the inherently weak Raman signal. The spectrometer also has the capability to first scan the entire sample optically, sweeping from side to side, to locate individual particles of interest – a task usually performed by large and cumbersome Raman microscopes.

“Since the overall system is modular, compact, and can be readily made portable, it can be easily applied to the detection of different compounds and for forensic examination of objects that are contaminated with drugs, explosives, and particularly explosive residues on latent fingerprints,” said Ilana Bar, a researcher with the Department of Physics at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Israel. “With proper investment this system could be deployed quite quickly as a consumer product.” Other members of the research team include Itamar Malka, Alona Petrushansky, and Salman Rosenwaks.
http://www.osa.org/en-us/about_osa/newsroom/newsreleases/2012/from_lectures_to_explosives_detection_green_laser/