Armed with MobileTrace and Itemiser trace detection units and supported by drug dogs, Kent officers set up posts at local hot spots with the full cooperation of their owners and require testing for narcotics as a condition of entry.

“By minimizing the amount of drugs on the streets and in night clubs we can lessen the number of incidents that occur and ensure a safer environment for patrons,” notes Kent Police Force Drugs Liaison Sergeant Howard Chandler.

In the program’s first two years, some 18,000 pub and clubgoers voluntarily submitted to screenings during which more than 1,500 traces of drugs were identified, leading both to drug arrests and addiction recovery outreach.

Since putting Itemiser and MobileTrace detectors to work on the scene, over 600 pubs have participated in the testing, resulting in 150+ drug possession arrests and refusal of entry to some 300 would-be patrons who admitted to recent drug use.

Part of the Kent Police’s highly effective “Safer Streets” operation, the pubs and clubs initiative has contributed to a significant reduction in nighttime crime and disorder.