Lumi: The new police drug testing tool hitting the streets

The devie will be rolled out across New Zealand. File photo / NZ Police

Police can now immediately test and identify if an unknown substance is methamphetamine, cocaine or MDMA thanks to a new drug scanning tool.

Lumi will launch today following a six-month pilot in the hands of frontline police. The device can instantly identify with 95 per cent accuracy if a substance is meth, coke or MDMA – giving police a better idea as to what action to take.

The test is conducted by placing a sample of the substance within a plastic bag atop a device which scans the sample, and then sends the result to an officer's phone which is linked to the device.

Police Commissioner Andrew Coster said being able to get identification early would be of big help to officers when they come across unknown substances on the job

He said in the past, officers had to rely on a visual inspection which Coster said was not reliable.

"This allows our staff to make some confident decisions."

150 devices would be rolled out nationally at most major police centres, with the cost of the test rollout being about $800,000, Coster said.

Coster said the best tool for identifying drugs in communities was wastewater and noted that was a key tool used to identify fentanyl in the Wairau spa recently.

While the Lumi test wouldn't recognise fentanyl, Coster hoped the test would be expanded in the future to be able to identify more drugs.

Police minister Chris Hipkins said the more tools provided to police, the better. He said there "deep-seated drug issues" in New Zealand and this test would benefit the policing of that.

Hipkins said there was no question drug activity is a challenge for NZ and linked that to increasing gang activity, saying it was "big business" for gangs.

Assistant Commissioner Lauano Sue Schwagler says people were more likely to disclose what they were carrying when they knew officers could test it.

"This meant the officer could then directly assess if they were more suitable for a warning, health referral or to go through the courts process."

"This allowed better-informed police discretion, showed that negative samples wouldn't require further evidential testing and reduced the need for an officer to bring a person back to the station for further questioning."

It also allows police to better identify harmful drug hotspots and trends, and help with planning to deploy resources to where they're needed most.

Lumi was co-designed by police and Environmental Science and Research. If successful police will look at developing the Lumi to identify other substances.

"Lumi won't replace other drug and alcohol testing devices and is a practical addition to Police tools for reducing drugs harm in New Zealand."