New tool to combat drugs and their addiction

Oconee Sheriff Mike Crenshaw has introduced a new tool to apply to the war against drugs and addiction.  With Dale Colegrove, co-owner of DCT Detection Services in West Union, Crenshaw is promoting a patch that some non-violent and first time offenders can wear.  In some circumstances, parents could use the patch to test teenagers for narcotics and drugs.  The patch has been tested in federal and state courts, including in one case from the state Supreme Court in South Carolina, according to Crenshaw. The patches will not be available to violent offenders or those with an extensive criminal history but can lower incarceration costs and perhaps help someone overcome drug addiction.  Magistrate’s or Circuit Court judges have the option as a condition of bond or perhaps as an alternative sentence in place of incarceration. “It costs the Sheriff’s Office about $60.00 a day to house one inmate,” says Sheriff Crenshaw.  “However, if a judge orders someone to wear the patch and they are non-violent or a first time offender, they in turn would have to pay $7.50 a day, which covers the costs of shipping the tests to a certified lab and for the posting of the results on a web portal that only those who are certified at DCT Detection can view.  The Sheriff’s Office would not receive any money from the program so there is no monetary benefit to us but in turn, there is no taxpayer money that is being spent to incarcerate an inmate.  All costs would be paid for by an offender in a criminal case or by a private citizen who asked that the test be administered.” The drug patch is placed on an individual’s arm by first cleaning the arm and then the patch is applied to the arm by an employee of DCT Detection Services.  When it is time for the patch to be removed, sterile tweezers are used to remove the patch. If there are positive tests, the results can be printed out and given to those private citizens that requested the test or those in the criminal justice system. The patch can detect cocaine, opiates (heroin, morphine and codeine), amphetamines, methamphetamines, PCP and marijuana.  According to Colegrove, DCT Detection Services is certified to use the product which has been cleared by the FDA and has been used for over ten years.