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DRE Program and Training

Drug Recognition Expert Application

This impaired driving enforcement training program is managed by the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) on behalf of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). DREs are specialists in identifying drivers who are impaired by drugs and alcohol. Importantly, DREs are also trained to identify drivers who are impaired because of a serious medical condition requiring immediate attention. These skills will help ensure equitable treatment for all drivers arrested for driving while impaired.

DRE School is extremely demanding. To receive certification as a DRE, two phases of training must be completed. The following summarizes each phase:

ACADEMIC TRAINING: This phase is typically conducted over ten days (80 hours). It includes courses in physiology, vital signs, standardized field sobriety testing (SFST), and extensive information on each of the seven categories of the drugs of abuse. The training includes an SFST proficiency examination, five written quizzes, and three written examinations. Students must achieve a minimum of 80% on the three examinations and must demonstrate proficiency in administering SFSTs in order to progress to the certification phase.

CERTIFICATION PHASE: After successfully completing the academic portion, students must complete the certification training phase. It is the student’s responsibility to complete the certification requirements within six months following the DRE School. These requirements include conducting a minimum of 12 drug influence evaluations while under the supervision of a DRE instructor, identifying subjects under the influence of four of the seven drug categories, and attaining a 75% toxicological confirmation rate. In addition, the student must maintain a certification progress log and rolling log and submit a written curriculum vitae (CV). Finally, the student must obtain the written endorsement of two certified DRE instructors.

Click HERE for an article from Police Chief Magazine, written by a Essex Chief of Police, Ron Hoague describing the many benefits of attending DRE training and how it can benefit your agency and the communities you serve.

 

Download the Application Here.  

Submit the Application to: Return this application and supporting documentation to Training Coordinator JamieLee Bedard, Vermont Criminal Justice Council, at jamielee.bedard@vermont.gov

If you have questions about the program, please contact John Flannigan, Vermont DEC Program State Coordinator at (802) 999-7685 or john@flannigansafety.com


DRE Online Continuing Education Opportunities


Expert Insights: Testifying in Court as a Drug Recognition Expert

Expert Insights: Testifying in Court as a Drug Recognition Expert, an eLearning course, is designed to support Drug Recognition Experts (DREs) as they prepare to appear as witnesses in drug-impaired driving trials. Throughout the course, experts in the fields of law enforcement and prosecution share advice on enhancing courtroom presence and testimony skills, in addition to examining some of the challenges of testifying in impaired driving cases.

 

This course explores the role of the DRE witness, fundamental courtroom rules and processes, case file preparation, and personal preparation, recognizing that the groundwork for successful testimony is multi-faceted.  Learners interact with the content sequentially, beginning with the preparation required before appearance as a DRE witness at a trial, the expert witness testimony during the direct examination, cross-examination by the defense attorney, and considerations after the conclusion of the trial.  

 

While tailored to officers who are DREs, this eLearning course is not part of the process of qualifying for or certifying an individual as a DRE.

 

You may experience differences in some legal procedures that differ from Vermont. If you have questions about specific content, please contact Vermont Traffic Safety Resource Prosecutor, Stacy Graczyk Stacy.Graczyk@vermont.gov or Dennis Wygmans Dennis.Wygmans@vermont.gov

DREs can sign up for an account to access the training at www.copstrainingportal.org  It requires minimal information and gives the DREs access to all courses offered through the LMS. All courses are free and can be taken at the DREs own pace.

Once your account is created navigate to E-Learning Courses, Traffic Safety, and select Expert Insights: Testifying in Court as a Drug Recognition Expert.

Upon completion, please provide the certificate of completion to John Flannigan, VT DECP state coordinator at John@Flannigansafety.com.  You will receive 4 DRE credit hours for this training


Title: Totality of the Circumstances: The DUI Investigation

Date: Wednesday, September 6, 2023

Time: 1p-230p Eastern

Presenter: Cpl. Dan Darren, Collier County (FL) Sheriff's Office

Registration Link: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/8835713254818699608

Description: “Totality of the Circumstances” is probably the most used “buzz” phrase in DUI and DRE Cases, but if asked by a prosecutor, would the law enforcement officer be able to clearly explain what is meant by that?  This session is designed to better assist both law enforcement officers and prosecutors with that important question.  It will take the attendee through the three-degree levels of DUI Enforcement training and pick out key steps and indicators that are often overlooked in testimony that will aid both the prosecutor and the law enforcement officer in presenting a complete and descriptive DUI case to a jury.


Title: Basic Trial Testimony: Do’s & Don’ts for DUIs

Date: Tuesday, September 12, 2023

Time: 2:00p-3:30p Eastern

Presenter: Ed Hirsch - Montana TSRP

Registration: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/3933971670761261148

Description: This training boils down the cumulative knowledge of experienced law enforcement, prosecutors, and judges into simple rules for testifying.  While these skills are applicable to all testimony, this training emphasizes their application during DUI testimony. Once the fundamentals are established, the training takes the next step and presents introductory basic science on human decision making and how to best account for that science during testimony in a DUI case.


Title: Impaired Driving with Designer Benzos

Date: Wednesday, September 13, 2023

Time: 1p-230p Eastern

Presenter: Nicholas Tiscione, M.S., D-ABFT-FT

Toxicology Unit Manager - Palm Beach County (FL) Sheriff's Office

Registration Link: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/917880434068533846

Description: Drug DUI cases are some of the most challenging cases to investigate and prosecute, due in large part to the emergence of novel psychoactive substances (NPS).  This presentation will provide prosecutors and law enforcement with a background of and current trends surrounding what has become the largest category of novel psychoactive substances.  This background will assist both prosecutors and law enforcement officers in dealing with these NPS-drugs while investigating and prosecuting Drug-DUI cases by discussing the challenges with toxicology testing for novel benzodiazepines and the impairment that they may produce.


Title: Nystagmus Review: Causes, Myths & Why It Matters in a DUI Case

Date: Wednesday, September 20, 2023

Time: 1p-230p Eastern

Presenter: Tim Cornelius - Florida State DRE Coordinator

Registration Link: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/3984433757095840088

Description: HGN is one of the most complex pieces of evidence in a DUI case, however there are other known and lesser-known forms of nystagmus that could be brought up in DUI cases.  This session will discuss those forms of nystagmus at length and will provide definitions and causes of the various types of nystagmus.  Such information will provide both prosecutors and law enforcement officers with a crucial understanding of these other types of nystagmus and how to defeat defense claims that the nystagmus observed in a DUI was not HGN or was unreliable.  Finally, this session will provide both prosecutors and law enforcement with an overview of how nystagmus can impact driving and the best ways to explain this point to the jury in a DUI case.


Title: DUI: Harder to Prove than Murder?

Date: Wednesday, September 27, 2023

Time: 1p-230p Eastern

Presenter: Det. John Cullen - Jacksonville (FL) Sheriff's Office

Registration Link: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/2770521242985549912

Description: Detective Cullen will compare his experience as a DUI officer to his time as a homicide investigator.  While homicide investigations are very complex and time consuming, the technical aspects of an impaired driving investigation are seemingly more difficult to prove in court.  As DUI officers are often challenged in a variety of court hearings, Detective Cullen will discuss how we can provide our best evidence in court to prove up a DUI case, as well as how to avoid or overcome common defense tactics in these complex cases.


Title: Advanced Trial Testimony: The Science of Deciding a DUI

Date: Tuesday, October 17, 2023

Time: 2:00p-3:30p Eastern

Presenter: Ed Hirsch - Montana TSRP

Registration: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/7408867119673046105

Description: Human behavioral scientists have spent considerable time studying how humans make decisions.  This training delves into how we make decisions, what triggers those decisions, and the ethically appropriate approaches law enforcement and prosecutors can make to put their best foot forward in the courtroom.  While these skills are applicable to all testimony, this training emphasizes their application during DUI testimony.


 

 

Title: Basic Trial Testimony: Do’s & Don’ts for DUIs

Date: Tuesday, September 12, 2023

Time: 2:00p-3:30p Eastern

Presenter: Ed Hirsch - Montana TSRP

Registration: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/3933971670761261148

Description: This training boils down the cumulative knowledge of experienced law enforcement, prosecutors, and judges into simple rules for testifying.  While these skills are applicable to all testimony, this training emphasizes their application during DUI testimony. Once the fundamentals are established, the training takes the next step and presents introductory basic science on human decision making and how to best account for that science during testimony in a DUI case.


Title: Impaired Driving with Designer Benzos

Date: Wednesday, September 13, 2023

Time: 1p-230p Eastern

Presenter: Nicholas Tiscione, M.S., D-ABFT-FT

Toxicology Unit Manager - Palm Beach County (FL) Sheriff's Office

Registration Link: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/917880434068533846

Description: Drug DUI cases are some of the most challenging cases to investigate and prosecute, due in large part to the emergence of novel psychoactive substances (NPS).  This presentation will provide prosecutors and law enforcement with a background of and current trends surrounding what has become the largest category of novel psychoactive substances.  This background will assist both prosecutors and law enforcement officers in dealing with these NPS-drugs while investigating and prosecuting Drug-DUI cases by discussing the challenges with toxicology testing for novel benzodiazepines and the impairment that they may produce.


Title: Nystagmus Review: Causes, Myths & Why It Matters in a DUI Case

Date: Wednesday, September 20, 2023

Time: 1p-230p Eastern

Presenter: Tim Cornelius - Florida State DRE Coordinator

Registration Link: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/3984433757095840088

Description: HGN is one of the most complex pieces of evidence in a DUI case, however there are other known and lesser-known forms of nystagmus that could be brought up in DUI cases.  This session will discuss those forms of nystagmus at length and will provide definitions and causes of the various types of nystagmus.  Such information will provide both prosecutors and law enforcement officers with a crucial understanding of these other types of nystagmus and how to defeat defense claims that the nystagmus observed in a DUI was not HGN or was unreliable.  Finally, this session will provide both prosecutors and law enforcement with an overview of how nystagmus can impact driving and the best ways to explain this point to the jury in a DUI case.

 


Title: DUI: Harder to Prove than Murder?

Date: Wednesday, September 27, 2023

Time: 1p-230p Eastern

Presenter: Det. John Cullen - Jacksonville (FL) Sheriff's Office

Registration Link: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/2770521242985549912

Description: Detective Cullen will compare his experience as a DUI officer to his time as a homicide investigator.  While homicide investigations are very complex and time consuming, the technical aspects of an impaired driving investigation are seemingly more difficult to prove in court.  As DUI officers are often challenged in a variety of court hearings, Detective Cullen will discuss how we can provide our best evidence in court to prove up a DUI case, as well as how to avoid or overcome common defense tactics in these complex cases.


Title: Advanced Trial Testimony: The Science of Deciding a DUI

Date: Tuesday, October 17, 2023

Time: 2:00p-3:30p Eastern

Presenter: Ed Hirsch - Montana TSRP

Registration: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/7408867119673046105

Description: Human behavioral scientists have spent considerable time studying how humans make decisions.  This training delves into how we make decisions, what triggers those decisions, and the ethically appropriate approaches law enforcement and prosecutors can make to put their best foot forward in the courtroom.  While these skills are applicable to all testimony, this training emphasizes their application during DUI testimony.


Title: DW-High: Driving While High

Date: Tuesday, November 14, 2023

Time: 2:00p-3:30p Eastern

Presenter: Yancy Green -- Founder, Exceeding the Limit, LLC

Registration: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/9162963101426874459

Description: This course is designed to train law enforcement officers and prosecutors on different indicators a person may display while administering SFSTs. Yancy Green will cover topics including three categories of Cannabis, how cannabis affects the human body, indicators of impairment, and indicators that are often overlooked while conducting a DUI investigation.  Such a discussion will better equip both law enforcement officers and prosecutors to investigate and prosecute DUI-Cannabis cases.


 

Title: Expert Testimony in Vehicular Crimes Cases

Date: Tuesday, December 12, 2023

Time: 2:00p-3:30p Eastern

Presenter: Aaron Harder

    • Bureau Chief
    • Vehicular Crimes Bureau
    • Maricopa County Attorney’s Office

Registration: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/4280417891020795225

Description: This session will discuss how an officer becomes qualified as an expert witness for trial.  Bureau Chief Harder will discuss the Daubert and Frye standards for collision reconstruction testimony and evidence along with best practices for presenting collision reconstruction testimony during trial.  He will also discuss and what to expect from jurors.  Finally, attendees will learn about scene investigation and how prosecutors and collision reconstruction experts work together at a vehicular crime scene to obtain all relevant evidence to present to a jury. 


Title: Working Professionally with DUI Victims & Survivors

Date: Monday, December 13, 2023

Time: 1p-230p Eastern

Presenter: Kristen Allen - MADD Florida

Registration Link: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/3808233722378727511

Description: This course will be an overview how to best work with DUI Victims & Survivors, providing a basic understanding of how trauma affects victims of DUI related offenses, and based upon that, how to work with drunk and drugged driving victims and survivors with both professionalism and compassion.  It will allow for prosecutors and law enforcement to hear from a victim of a DUI who lost loved ones and had to deal not just with her loss but with issues related to the court system.   She will be able to explain all of her interactions – both good and bad – with prosecutors, defense attorneys and the court system.  She will explain how some in the court system treated her professionally, and others didn’t.  She will emphasize what one needs to make sure to do in order to act with compassion and professionalism when dealing with victims and how more professional treatment at some stages of the process could have made it much less difficult to deal with.  Finally, members of MADD Florida will discuss the MADD Florida Victim Services Program and provide prosecutors and law enforcement with resources – such as victim advocate contacts – which will be able to assist them to handle DUI victims more professionally.

 


Title: Developing Your DRE/DUI Expertise (Florida Bar Approval for 2.0-hr CLE General Credit)

Date: Wednesday, December 20, 2023

Time: 1p-230p Eastern

Presenter: Chuck Matson

Registration Link: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/2431091010603401311

Description: Sharpen your axes and become more than a clue counter or box checker. This dynamic schooling will explore various appearance, behavior, performance, and autonomic responses that are too frequently overlooked and underappreciated during impaired driving investigations. Attendees will be better able to understand the importance of recognizing and documenting more than just the ‘standardized’ clues and average DRE ranges. This training will allow participants to take another step in understanding human physiology and how when drug-related changes occur to the eyes, and other areas of the central nervous system, it is actual impairment.

 


Title: How Do We Prove It? A Case Study of DUI Investigation & Conviction after Narcan

Date: Tuesday, January 16, 2024

Time: 2:00p-3:30p Eastern

Presenter: Nathaniel Grimm

    • Officer, DRE Instructor
    • Lincoln (Nebraska) Police Department

Registration: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/2088859219818441307

Description: In early 2020, a Lincoln Police Officer responded to a call of an unconscious driver, who fire and medical personnel ultimately revived with Naloxone. The officer requested the assistance of a Drug Recognition Expert, and despite the driver now being sober, officers were able to establish probable cause to cite the driver for DUI. Through cooperation between the officers and the County Attorney's office, many defense challenges were overcome and a conviction was obtained at a jury trial in a case where the evidence of impairment was little more than "Narcan worked."


Title: DRE and the IACP 2024: Updates & Enhancements

Date: Tuesday, February 27, 2024

Time: 2:00p-3:30p Eastern

Presenter: Joe Abrusci, Project Manager – DECP Eastern Region, International Association of Chiefs of Police

Registration Link: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/1339964258216192855

Description: This session is intended to provide an update on projects related to and affecting the DRE program that are underway, as well as new offerings to help further ARIDE and DRE training.  Additionally, it will provide updates on recent and pending Frye/Daubert Hearings regarding the DRE program.  Finally, it will provide information on judicial and prosecutor training related to the DRE program.