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Clandestine Drug Labs: Kitchens of Death

NCJ Number
126573
Author(s)
A Wagner
Date Published
1989
Length
0 pages
Annotation
A two-tape video presentation includes a California law enforcement training video on how police should safely handle duties and investigations that involve clandestine drug laboratories and a public-education video on dangers and signs of a clandestine drug laboratory.
Abstract
The law enforcement training video opens with a segment containing general information on the nature and dangers of clandestine drug laboratories, notably the dangers of explosion, fire, and contact with toxic chemicals and their fumes. Another segment provides information on the detection and location of clandestine labs. Officers are warned about contact with drug laboratory equipment and chemicals in routine traffic stops, as lab operators transport their labs from one site to another. Common sites for labs are noted to be rural and urban rental facilities, motel rooms, trailers, and storage facilities. Officers who come upon labs or lab paraphernalia are advised to call the narcotics unit, the fire department, and backup. Patrol officers are advised not to enter the labs. Segment three of the training video focuses on booby traps and other hazards of drug labs. Common booby traps are described as are the dangers of the chemicals used in the labs. The public education video focuses on the danger of labs to the operators, to police, and to surrounding neighborhoods. The public-education video presents much of the same information as the general-information segment of the police training tape.