Manchester Police Trial Drug Tester

Manchester trials a new machine that can quickly tell whether drugs seized are particularly dangerous to users.

10:26 20 August 2018

Manchester city centre police station has acquired a brand new machine that can help them test the drugs they’ve seized, allowing them to quickly determine if they are particularly dangerous to users. The resulting information can also help the police build an accurate picture of the drugs landscape across Greater Manchester.

 

The machine can analyse confiscated substances within an hour and send the information to GMP officers, healthcare professionals and front-line responders across the region in real-time.

 

Dr Oliver Sutcliffe, senior lecturer in Psychopharmaceutical Chemistry at Manchester Metropolitan University, said: “We are pleased to support Greater Manchester Police under this initiative. The arrangement builds on the projects that we are currently running with the police.

 

“We hope that our lab analysis will help improve drug awareness amongst our communities, and enhance and inform harm reduction schemes across the city.”

 

Superintendent Chris Hill from Greater Manchester Police added:

 

“This initiative will give us the ability to test unknown substances as quickly as possible so that we can respond as soon as possible if there is an ongoing danger or threat. It will also help us continue to develop our knowledge of the currentdrugs landscape and ultimately share information with our partners.

 

"It’s really important that we have all of the information possible so that we can continue to tackle the drug issues acrossGreater Manchester but also work with partners to keep people safe.”