The Foundation For The Defense Of Citizens Against State Abuses (FACIAS) is raising a warning about the funds allocated for the purchase of DrugTest machines, which have recorded multiple errors and have generated serious abuses against citizens.
Approximately 50% of the results obtained from drug tests were erroneous
In response to the queries raised by FACIAS, the General Inspectorate of the Romanian Police (IGPR) has disclosed that the Romanian Police currently utilises 800 drug testing devices, branded Drager DrugTest 5000. The total cost of each device was 13,999.16 lei, amounting to a collective expenditure of 11.2 million lei, or approximately 2.2 million euros. These devices, designed to detect drug abuse, have become emblematic of the misuse and squandering of public funds. The reason for this is that the margin of error of these machines used to detect drivers who have consumed banned substances is very high. In Iași, for example, almost half of the results of these tests were found to be false positives, leading to numerous sanctions and abusive criminal cases. The question thus arises as to who is responsible for these abuses and who bears the burden of the damage caused to citizens who have been unfairly penalised.
A chaotic procurement and waste of funds
After spending €2.2 million, the Romanian police has announced that it will buy new, more accurate machines to detect drivers under the influence of drugs.
At the same time, FACIAS requested information on the effectiveness of the anti-drug tests purchased, whether the procedure for the purchase of new anti-drug tests has been started, what is the need and estimated cost of the new anti-drug tests and when the new devices will be in the possession of the Romanian Police.
FACIAS also asked the Ministry of Internal Affairs to communicate whether at the time of the purchase of DrugTest devices was also requested a document showing the error rate of the devices and the drugs, supplements, foodstuffs for which they can give false results.
These are questions to which we are still waiting for answers from state institutions. The Romanian Police and the Minister of Interior must clarify this situation!
FACIAS has made available to citizens a model of legal action through which they can seek compensation if they have been victims of injustices committed by the erroneous and abusive application of the new legislative provisions of the Emergency Ordinance No. 84/2024.
The foundation's action is part of the "Turn off the waste tap" campaign, a FACIAS campaign that aims to spend public funds responsibly and transparently.