DRUG testing of Border drivers is set to become more common with resources being boosted to help Albury police.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The scrutiny comes as concern grows at the number of motorists impaired in particular by ice.
Albury police chief Superintendent Beth Stirton said recent results had highlighted the need for a mobile drug testing van to be used more often on the Border.
"In Albury do have unfortunately a quite high reporting result when we do have the van down here,” Supt Stirton said.
"We had it down here only two weeks ago and we had a one in six hit rate with people driving with drugs, whether they be illegal or legal."
Supt Stirton said without the van, drug testing only occurred via blood analysis and that usually resulted from a serious crash.
"In the ideal world it would be good to have the van here every month or so, so we could have a look at targeting people out there who have complete disregard for others in the community,” she said.
Supt Stirton met NSW Police Minister Troy Grant in Albury last Saturday.
The pair discussed the ice eruption and Mr Grant pointed to two new four-wheel-drive units which will allow Albury police to target drug-affected motorists using back roads.
"Commander Stirton is keen to get them into the area, so they can go out of your main streets and off road to catch people taking back roads when they're drug driving," Mr Grant said.
He admitted more action was needed.
"It is not an issue we can arrest our way out of, it is not something we can simply get the community to solve themselves, we need health and education also involved, so it's going to be a multi-agency approach," Mr Grant said.
"We need to work together and come up with local ways to fix the problem, while dealing with the issue across the whole state."
Mr Grant, a former police officer, said he was horrified by the impact of ice.
"It's the most devastating drug I've seen, it's the most corrosive drug to human decency I've seen," Mr Grant said.