Commentary on Sections Part 12 - Sentencing Chapter 6: Release of Prisoners on Licence Section 266: Release on licence, etc: drug testing requirements
605.This section amends section 64 of the Criminal Justice and Court Services Act 2000. It provides that should a responsible officer, as defined in subsection (6), be of the opinion that the offender has a propensity to misuse any specified Class A drugs and that such misuse has caused or contributed to any offence of which he was convicted or is likely to cause or contribute to him committing further offences, the offender must provide, when requested, a sample to ascertain whether he has a specified Class A drug in his system. The requirement that a trigger offence has been committed is removed. The minimum age of persons to whom drug testing under this provision applies is lowered to 14 years. A sentence of detention under section 226 or 228 of this Act will be included for the purposes of this section. The presence of an appropriate adult, as defined in subsection (6), is required for the taking of a sample in the case of an offender who is under the age of 17 years.