The police say they are ‘headed for an overspend’ and the introduction of drug wipes are a big factor of this according to a new report.

The figures given by Chief Constable Gary Roberts show that in the first two months of the drug wipes being used, the police have spent around £42,980 for 70 cases.

This comes from Mr Roberts’ final annual report, in which he says: ‘Each wipe costs about £14 and the off-island testing of each sample costs upward of £600.’

In their first two months of use more than 70 cases were detected,

The cost of the tests worried Mr Roberts.

He said: ‘The future does not look to be very encouraging... the force’s forensic science budget will likely largely be overspent within the first quarter of the 2022-23 year.’

The Chief Constable’s report is to be presented to Tynwald in October and puts the spotlight on how much the force is overspending this year for its forensics service.

In the last two months there has been a noticeable rise in the number of cases of driving under the influence of cannabis brought before the courts.

The new testing method has led to 35 recorded cases of driving under the influence of drugs.

The Manx Independent attempted to contact Justice and Home Affairs Minister Jane Poole-Wilson and Mr Roberts to comment on the issue, however, both were unavailable.

But a police spokesperson for the police said: ‘The simple answer is that we weren’t given any extra budget to cope with the level of arrests that we have seen and an increase in arrests can correlate to an increase in forensic submissions.’

This is especially concerning as the government prepares for the tough economic challenge of the cost of living crisis sweeping the island.

The police spokesman added: ‘What I would also say is that where possible we look to get costs back from convicted offenders via the courts.’