The Ruma Marker-System in penal institutions and probationary services
The drug tests in the penal system are legally regulated. For example, the Penal System Act of the German federal state North Rhine Westphalia (StVollzG NRW) states:
§ 65 Measures for detecting drug consumption
(1) To maintain the safety or order in the institution, general or specific measures can be initiated, which are suitable for the detection of drug abuse. These measures should not be associated with any physical intervention.
This also raises the question of sample integrity. However, with yet another restriction: On the one hand, the results of a judicial verification must be sustained and on the other hand, the ban on bodily intervention rules out test methods through blood or saliva. The skin must be pierced to collect a blood sample. The stimulation of salivation to collect sufficient quantity of a sample represents an intervention into a natural body function.
As a result, only urine remains as a suitable test medium. Urine is produced in sufficient quantity and the procedure for analysis, in contrast to saliva or capillary blood, are well-tried and established. You can find more information under "“Why urine”".
With regard to probation services the situation is a bit different. In accordance with Article 68b of the German Penal Code, the court may give an order that the convicted person must be subjected to drug testing. However, this is subject to the convict's consent in accordance with Article 56c of the German Penal Code, if such a test includes a physical intervention.
§ 56c Directives
(3) The directive
1. to submit to a curative treatment that involves a physical intervention or a withdrawal treatment, or
2. to stay in a suitable home or a suitable institution can only be issued with the consent of the convict.
Therefore, urine testing is also the method of choice for probation services, and the proven advantages of the Ruma Marker-System are available in their complete scope:
- Reliable matching of the urine sample to the sample donor without direct observation
- Verifiable, forensically accredited analysis of sample integrity based on state-of-the-art technology and latest scientific principles
- Planning security for your organizational processes without waiting times at the bathroom or needing a person of the same gender to perform the observation