Crime & Safety
CoCo Sheriff To Buy High-Tech Drug Detection Tool Via $409K Grant
The "Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectrometer" will be used to detect & analyze illicit drugs in DUIs & sex-assault cases.
CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CA — The Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office will use a recently awarded $408,853 grant to purchase for its crime lab a specialized, drug-detection instrument — a Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectrometer, authorities announced this week.
The agency's Forensic Services Division received the funding from the California Office of Traffic Safety.
"The new equipment can detect illegal drugs, prescription drugs and over-the-counter drugs commonly found in driving under the influence of drugs (DUID) and drug-facilitated sexual assault (DFSA) cases," deputies said, adding that the tool will enhance law enforcement abilities in Contra Costa County and the criminal justice system.
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“We are pleased to receive this grant from the Office of Traffic Safety,” said Contra Costa County Sheriff David O. Livingston. “This will increase our efficiency and enable us to provide rapid results to law enforcement and prosecutors on DUID cases in Contra Costa County.”
The purchase, training and method validation of the device may take up to a year, officials said.
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