New CPD program aims to prevent sexual assault, promote safe drinking

The Columbia Police Department is rolling out a program to promote safe drinking and to help prevent date rape.

It’s a project the department has been working on for the last year.

“It was something that in his capacity he was aware on a national level and a local level of the genuine concern of drug facilitated sexual assault or date rape,” said Sergeant Chad Gooch, who has been working with another Lieutenant in the department on the program.

One of the tools provided allows people to test their drinks if they’re concerned it may have been drugged. The test strips can be handed out in addition to a safety presentation at the request of any student or community group.

“Sororities is kind of what we were thinking,” Gooch said. “A lot of people at the Universities, they would have a higher exposure, probably the one sub-group of the community that would have the largest danger, we would expect.”

The test strips were created by Drink Safe Technologies.

“Basically just take drops of that drink for a sample of it and put it on each individual dot and then mix it,” Gooch said. “And it tests for a variety of chemicals, whether it’s GHB or ketamine, things that are used for drug facilitated sexual assault.”

Gooch said the program is still a work in progress.

The department said it would like to provide extra strips to bars downtown as a public safety measure so that anyone who is concerned can test the contents of their drink.

Anyone who wants to request test strips can call the Columbia Police Department at 573-874-7652.