Nearly quarter of missed drug-driving prosecutions involved ‘repeat offenders’
Almost a quarter of suspected drug drivers who avoided justice due to forensic testing delays were potential repeat offenders, figures have revealed.
A total of 444 cases were not progressed because of testing and analysis delays since October 2019 – an increase of 60 since the previous 384 cases were reported.
The cases could not be prosecuted because they reached the statutory 12-month time limit for testing.
Justice Secretary Keith Brown provided updated figures from the Scottish Police Authority (SPA) following a request from the Tory MSP.
In his letter, he said missed opportunities to prosecute such cases are both “serious and regrettable”.
Figures revealed that some 99 of the cases involved a potential repeat offender.
And innocent people were injured in two of the incidents, figures showed, while 40 involved a collision.
Mr Findlay said: “It was shocking enough when it was revealed that hundreds of drug-driving suspects snared by police were able to evade justice due to forensic delays.
“But it’s even worse to now discover, months later, that many of them were repeat offenders, that innocent people who suffered injuries in two of these incidents and that 60 more such cases have also been binned.
“Those who get behind the wheel while impaired by drugs are a danger to themselves and recklessly risk the safety of everyone else.
“All drug drivers should be brought to justice and that is especially true of repeat offenders.
“Law-abiding road users should feel safe and have faith in the justice system – but that’s no longer the case under this incompetent SNP Government which needs to get a grip before somebody is killed.”
More than 5,600 drug-driving blood samples have been tested since 2019 when new legislation was introduced making it an offence to drive while under the influence of certain drugs, including cocaine, morphine and cannabis.
The SPA had previously called for long-term measures to fix the backlogs and said current methods, including outsourcing, were like a “sticking plaster” amid the increasing demand.
A Scottish Government spokesman said it had “received assurance that urgent action is under way to address the capacity issues in both the immediate and longer-term”.
“The Scottish Government has provided over £1.3 billion to SPA this financial year, which includes funding for SPA Forensics as well as for Police Scotland for 2022-23,” the spokesman said.
“In recent years, we have provided £1.9 million of additional funding to assist SPA Forensic Services in delivering the necessary testing for drug driving including a further £370,000 this summer.”