CLUBBERS AND PUBBERS TO BE TESTED FOR DRUG USE
People out and about in the Froghill area are to be subjected to controversial new on-the-spot drugs testing, the Observer can reveal.
Starting next month, Froghill Constabulary is introducing a machine that can detect illegal substances by inducing the symptoms of nervous breakdown in the user.
The machine, called the Psychometron, is about the size of a coffin and will be taken around local nightspots in a police van. Its interior is equipped with head and body clamps, variable strobe lighting and high-quality Bose speakers.
Anyone suspected of having ingested illegal substances will be secured inside the machine for a period of 25 minutes. They will then be strobed at a flash frequency which induces epilepsy and subjected to the sound of screaming at a volume of 120 decibels.
“Basically, anyone under the influence of mind-altering substances goes gibbering mad after about 10 minutes in there,” said DS Geoff Bunton, who is spearheading Operation Mental Hygiene, a new initiative designed to clean up Froghill’s drug scene.
“If they can still talk when they come out, it’s safe to assume they’re straight,” he added.
The machine has undergone extensive trialling in the United States, where it has been credited with achieving a 99% detection rate.
Bill Blocker, landlord of The Nut Tree in Bancroft Street, said he was in favour of any measures which would help reduce drug use in his pub.
“I think it’s a great way of tackling the drugs problem and I’m all for it,” he said.
“We did get a couple of sniffer dogs in earlier this year, but after one evening on the job they found their way round the back of the bar and started drinking from the slops tray.
“Bloody animals ended up so pissed they couldn’t even sniff their own groins, let alone find a roach in a urinal,” he added.
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