HOUSTON (FOX 26) -
It was a long, hot summer for the Harris County Probation Department.
The department's top brass went on trial for botching numerous drug tests, causing one man to be wrongly jailed and probably many more.
"We know that there's at least 32 cases that they recently identified and that's just scratching the surface," defense attorney Lisa Andrews said.
Court testimony showed the director and his top lieutenants knew their drug tests were riddled with problems. As a result of the public disclosure, the chief administrators resigned.
"It was disappointing to see how wide and deep it was and I was surprised from top to bottom there appeared to be a problem," interim HCPD Director Helen Harberts said.
Though Harberts has only been director for a month, she is already making major changes to the way urine drug testing is done.
"I just feel like this was taking it too far, it almost felt like it was an extra punishment," an unidentified probationer said of the new urine test procedure.
First, he said you raise your shirt and hold it under your armpits.
"Then you take your pants and your underwear all the way down to your ankles and leave them there," the probationer said. "For however long it takes you to produce your sample, you're standing there, front and back, sides, naked, everything exposed."
It's the same procedure for women who must squat and cough forcefully three times.
A probation department employee witnesses every test.
"It was embarrassing; it was humiliating," the probationer said.
And it may well be completely unnecessary as cheating was never an issue.
"It is invasive it is embarrassing and we understand that," Harberts said. "And to be honest, it's embarrassing for the urine testers."
The interim director is responsible for this unusual procedure as well as improving the department's chain of custody.
"A cup of urine is no different in the eyes of the law than a murder weapon," Harberts said.
