Hair test plan to check drug use in child custody cases

Published on Sunday 4 January 2009 21:04

PARENTS will be tested for cocaine and heroin abuse in bitter child custody battles, providing hair samples to prove they are drug-free, The Scotsman has learned.

People will be tested for a range of drugs such as cocaine, amphetamines, heroin and cannabis, so that courts know whether they are clean.

Parents who have been refused access to their children will be able to provide detailed evidence of drug abstinence, based on their hair. And anyone under suspicion can be asked to give a sample, where it is feared they are drug abusers and unfit to look after children.

The state-of-the-art technology is widely used in child custody cases in England and Wales and Scots lawyers are keen to use it. Hair samples can provide a profile of drug use going back months, sometimes years, instead of just the last few hours or days that analysis of saliva or urine gives.

Leading family lawyer, John Fotheringham, from Fyfe Ireland, described the technology as a useful tool. He said: "If the man has contact with the child and the mother thinks he has a drug problem, she could ask him to take the test. He could request the test to prove to the courts he is drug-free.

"It's not a test that will give all the answers on its own, but it can be a very useful tool and it can be the most critical bit of disputed evidence.

"If a person refused to take the test, the court can draw its own conclusions."

TrichoTech is a Cardiff toxicology laboratory that carries out tests on behalf of the Home Office and for private use. It was involved in testing the England and Manchester United footballer, Rio Ferdinand, whose hair proved he was drug-free.

Ferdinand, who was banned for eight months and fined 50,000 for missing a drugs test five years ago, welcomed the prospect of strict drug controls for players last month, despite being vilified his missed test.

Drug-testing is a multi-million-pound industry and the technology is used by police investigating crimes, clinicians treating addicts and, increasingly, employers, to find out whether job candidates have a drug addiction.

Company sources said the scope for using hair samples in child protection was huge and social services in England were doing so to see whether children were at risk from drug abuse.

"It can help to show that a child is at risk, because the mother is a drug user," a spokesman said. "Social services want to see a trend of drug use. You can provide a month-by-month view. In some cases we are asked to test a child's hair to see if they have ingested drugs."

Most of TrichoTech's 3,000 clients are law firms, social services and regulatory bodies such as the Civil Aviation Authority.

In recent years there has been a significant increase in recruitment tests, particularly for safety critical posts such as police officers, and the company provides pre-employment testing to many UK police forces.

Scientists looking at a centimetre lock of hair can present information on a month's drug use; the longer the hair, the further they can check back. Hair can also show whether someone is a heavy alcohol user.

The analysis is said to be so accurate that it can detect the amount of banned substances the person is using.

Chris Bell, head of sample collection at TrichoTech, said the analysis was much more reliable than a urine sample as it could detect drug use over a longer period.

"For urine samples, you will only find out what the person has been taking in the last one to four days. With hair testing you can go back months or even years.

"There are very few drugs we can't test for. We can test for amphetamines, cannabis and even identify the difference between cocaine and crack cocaine."

Mr Bell said the technology had been used in murder trials to detail a person's drug history.

"We have provided evidence in court cases where a parent has been accused of murder. We have said the evidence is that this is a one-off case where the child has ingested a drug by accident."

Drug testing has been used in Scotland's criminal justice system for a number of years. At the moment, drug treatment and testing orders are only made by the courts for those convicted of serious crimes.

Last year it emerged that petty criminals, such as house breakers and shoplifters, could soon be subject to the orders.

If the Executive's plans go ahead, all courts, including district courts, would be able to make drug treatment and testing orders to any offender if they felt there was a clear drugs link.

Q&A

Question: What are the advantages of testing for drugs using hair samples instead of urine or saliva?

Answer: With a lock of hair, the test can give a much more detailed pattern of drug-taking, dating back weeks, months or even years..

Q: How invasive is the test and how much of a sample needs to be given?

A: The test is simple and non-invasive. A one-centimetre lock of hair gives information on the last month of drug use. Longer samples build up a more detailed picture of retrospective data. Even half a centimetre would provide a couple of weeks' data.

Q: How can this apply to family law?

A: It can be used in child custody cases. If a couple are splitting up and accusing one another of taking drugs, they can both be tested to determine whether they are fit parents.

Q: How much detail can be gleaned?

A: A great deal. The laboratory can find out the strength of cannabis used and whether someone has "fallen off the wagon", detailing the exact month they starting using drugs again.