ARIDE 2024
Sept. 26th & 27th (Essex PD) https://www.eventbrite.com/e/aride-tickets-775637110477
Nov. 25th & 26th (Dover PD) https://www.eventbrite.com/e/aride-tickets-775521735387
ARIDE Refresher Course
Click Here for Registration and More Information
The ARIDE Refresher course was developed for law enforcement officers who have attended the 16-hour in-person ARIDE course. It is designed to provide the officers with key concepts taught in the full two-day training through an interactive web-based format to refresh their skills.
NHTSA's ARIDE training is a 16-hour, in-person instructor-led course that builds on the skills of the Standardized Field Sobriety Tests to enhance a law enforcement officer's ability to detect impaired driving and enforce relevant laws. With the development of the 4-hour ARIDE Refresher eLearning course, officers trained in ARIDE can refresh their skills without having to attend an in-person course; instead, they can access the course when their schedule allows, from anywhere with an internet connection. Featuring highly skilled and well-trained subject matter experts from across the country, this course will allow learners to re-engage with the material from the in-person course while testing their knowledge through realistic scenarios and testing before, during, and after the training.
Officers can sign up for an account to access the training at www.copstrainingportal.org It requires minimal information and gives the officer access to all courses offered through the LMS. All courses are free and can be taken at the officers’ own pace.
Once your account is created navigate to E-Learning Courses, Drug Awareness & Enforcement, and select Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement (ARIDE) Refresher.
Upon completion, please provide the certificate of completion and the supporting documentation to Jen Hier (Jennifer.hier@vermont.gov) at the Vermont Police Academy. You will receive 4 credit hours for this training
DRE Training School
Application period is now closed. 2025 training period applications will be available in late September 2024.
DUI/SFST 2024
Oct. 28th – Nov. 1st - Click Here for Registration
DRE Online Continuing Education Opportunities
Title: Preparing Your Motor Vehicle Crash Case for Trial (2024) (1.5 Hours)
Date: Tue, Aug 20, 2024
Time: 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM EDT
Registration Link: Registration (gotowebinar.com)
Traffic Homicide cases involving impairment often involve complex collision reconstruction and the use of collision reconstruction experts. This session will provide insight on cross examining the defense collision reconstruction expert in such cases and a few rules of engagement, including emphasis on the importance of gaining concessions from the defense expert to use during closing argument. It will include comments from Professor Kwasnoski’s perspective as an expert witness on preparing a State collision reconstruction expert's testimony in Traffic Homicide Impaired Driving Cases, including what to tell the law enforcement witness during the pre-trial meeting. It will also explain how to better qualify the law enforcement expert, including the need to minimize the math and how to help the witness learn to overcome the use of "cop talk" and "techno-speak.
Title: Let's Get Physiological: Drugs and the Human Body (1.0 Hours)
Date: Wed, Aug 21, 2024
Time: 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM EDT
Registration Link: Registration (gotowebinar.com)
Drug DUI cases are some of the most difficult to investigate and prosecute. This session will assist both prosecutors and LEOs to better investigate and prosecute these important cases by providing a background as to drugs and the human body in three main ways. First, it will discuss how drugs get into the body. Next, it will discuss how drugs work in the body. Finally, it will discuss how drugs get out of the body. The information provided in this session will go a few steps beyond what is covered in the DRE curriculum from a layperson's perspective, giving both prosecutors and LEOs a better background into this important area to enhance both the investigation and the prosecution of DUI cases.
Title: Pharmacology & Behavioral Effects of Dissociative Anesthetics (1.0 Hours)
Date: Wed, Aug 28, 2024
Time: 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM EDT
Registration Link: Registration (gotowebinar.com)
Drug DUI cases are some of the hardest to investigate and prosecute as LEOs and prosecutors need specific information as to numerous different drug categories to effectively handle such cases. This presentation will assist both LEOs and prosecutors in the investigation and prosecution of such Drug DUI cases; it will provide a basic understanding of the pharmacological mechanisms through which Dissociative Anesthetic drugs exert their effects on the human body. It will also provide a review of case studies from actual incidents that will be used to illustrate the behaviors associated with Dissociative Anesthetic use. Such information will enhance the abilities of both LEOs and prosecutors in the investigation and prosecution of Drug DUI cases involving Dissociative Anesthetics.
Title: Intoxication vs. Medical Conditions: How to Differentiate Abnormal Eye Movements (1.5 Hours)
Date: Wed, Sep 4, 2024
Time: 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM EDT
Registration Link: Registration (gotowebinar.com)
Impaired driving investigations frequently begin with, and often hinge upon, observations about a subject’s eyes and eye movements. Officers know that specific intoxicants will cause specific and consistent changes to the appearance of the eyes and pupils as well as possible disruption of normal eye movements. Certain medical and environmental conditions also can affect normal appearance and responses, but usually in a manner that can be distinguished from the effects of intoxicants. This presentation will explore these differences, especially causes of red, watery eyes; dilated or constricted pupils; and abnormal eye movements such as nystagmus, saccadic intrusions, and convergence insufficiency.
Title: Over the Counter Concoctions – Just Because it is Legal Does Not Mean it is Safe (1.0 Hours)
Date: Wed, Sep 11, 2024
Time: 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM EDT
Registration Link: Registration (gotowebinar.com)
The intentional misuse and abuse of legal pills, potions, and blends, frequently flies under the criminal justice systems radar during impaired driving investigations. This vibrant presentation will explore several lawful substances that when misused or mixed with other psychoactive chemicals can cause a driver to be unsafe operating a vehicle to allow both LEOs and prosecutors to better investigate and prosecute the Drug DUI case.
Title: Surviving the DUI Cross Examination While Winning the Minds of the Jury
Date: Wed, Sep 18, 2024
Time: 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM EDT
Registration Link: Registration (gotowebinar.com)
DUI cases are some of the mostly hotly litigated cases in the criminal justice system. For successful prosecution, LEOs involved in DUI cases will need to be able to survive what is often intense cross examination and prosecutors need to know how to properly prepare their LEOs for that cross examination. This session will help LEOs to better understand the types of questions that they can be confronted with on cross examination in a DUI case so that they can better respond and more professionally handle attack by defense attorneys. It will also provide prosecutors and LEOs with tips and tactics to better handle cross examination in a DUI case and allow both the LEO and the prosecutor to win the mind of the jury to achieve a guilty verdict.
Title: The Effects & Detection of Nitrous Oxide Use in Drivers (1.0 Hours)
Date: Tue, Sep 24, 2024
Time: 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM EDT
Registration Link: Registration (gotowebinar.com)
The recreational use of nitrous oxide (N2O), colloquially known as “laughing gas”, is a potentially serious but overlooked danger to traffic safety. The Dutch police has documented over 700 traffic incidents resulting is serious injury or death from 2019 to 2022, in which N2O intoxication was suspected to play a causal role. Despite concerning reports by various news outlets and law enforcement in numerous countries, most notably the UK, the phenomenon has received little scientific attention. In order to address the hiatus in knowledge faced by law enforcement when attempting to deal with this issue, a randomized, placebo-controlled, single-blind, crossover study with 24 occasional N2O users was conducted to investigate the relevant time window for driving impairment and detection in breath, blood, and saliva. Psychomotor functioning and N2O concentrations in breath, blood, and saliva were investigated for up to 60 minutes after inhalation of either (a) placebo, (b) a single recreational dose of N2O (i.e. 4 liter/8grams inhaled from a party balloon), or (c) two subsequent recreational doses of N2O. Breath samples were analyzed using a infrared spectroscopy detector intended for industrial leak detection. The measurements were validated through GC-MS analysis at the Dutch institute for applied natural sciences (TNO). Blood and saliva samples were analyzed using HS-GC-MS. Driving related functions were assessed using a divided attention and psychomotor computer task. Test visits were conducted in a equipped operating room at the Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) under medical supervision of an anesthesiologist. A noticeable dissociative state was observed in the first minute after inhalation of N2O, during which the participants were often unable to comply with instructions, indicating the existence of a severe driving impairment during the initial intoxication phases. These effects dissipated within ±1 minute, although psychomotor task performance appeared to reflect residual impairment for up to 45 minutes
Title: Detecting the Impaired Driver: Going Beyond the Routine Traffic Stop (1.5 Hours)
Date: Wed, Sep 25, 2024
Time: 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM EDT
Registration Link: Registration (gotowebinar.com)
This session will enhance both newer and more seasoned LEOs' ability to detect impaired drivers and help them go beyond the routine traffic stop. It will discuss Florida traffic statutes and case law, along with how those relate to traffic stops and DUI detection and investigation. Topics covered will include:
- Impaired driver detection techniques (Vehicle in Motion)
- Subtle signs of impairment
- Interview techniques (Questions to ask)
- When to get a driver out of a vehicle
- Dos & Don'ts during DUI Investigations
- Case Law Review
Such information will allow LEOs to better investigate the DUI case, and it will provide prosecutors with the background necessary to properly prepare and prosecute a DUI case.
Title: A Traffic Stop: The Story Waiting to Be Told
Date: Wed, Oct 2, 2024
Time: 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM EDT
Registration Link: Registration (gotowebinar.com)
DUI cases regularly begin from traffic stops. Joel Rifkin, Randy Kraft, and Ted Bundy were all serial killers caught during traffic stops! This session will integrate the traffic stopping sequence in a manner which will give officers a tactical advantage while being able to not only observe the driver but pick up on criminal behaviors and the signs and symptoms of substance abuse. We will also look at the 11 legal ways to gain access to the vehicle while determining the direction the traffic stop is going to proceed. Such background information will allow law enforcement officers to better handle DUI cases that arise from traffic stops, and will allow prosecutors to better understand and evaluate such DUI cases.
Title: Testifying in Court...You Said What?! Strategies for Effective Testimony (1.5 Hours)
Date: Wed, Oct 9, 2024
Time: 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM EDT
Registration Link: Registration (gotowebinar.com)
The backbone of a prosecutor’s case is most often the testimony of officers in court. However, testifying can be nerve racking due to lack of experience, lack of confidence, or lack of training to name a few. Learn tips on how to testify to strengthen your case and persuade a judge and jury. We will look at examples from actual cases to illustrate some do's and don'ts of testifying in a DUI case. You will also watch live examples putting into practice the tips you will learn from this session. Once you are able to testify in a more descriptive and persuasive manner, you will be more confident and comfortable while testifying. This can lead to more successful prosecutions.
Title: Cannabis Studies: What Traffic Safety Professionals Need to Know (1.5 Hours)
Date: Wed, Oct 16, 2024
Time: 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM EDT
Registration Link: Registration (gotowebinar.com)
This presentation is designed to introduce students to the field of cannabis studies. Presenters will share recent and foundational cannabis studies to increase awareness and delve into current data and findings. Attendees will learn how the studies relate to impaired driving detection and enforcement and how they can utilize the information presented to enhance their investigations. Presenters will also introduce some of the technologies being developed and studied as it relates to detection and enforcement of cannabis-impaired driving.
Title: DUI Report Writing: Best Practices for Completing the DUI Alcohol/Drug Influence Report (1.5 Hours)
Date: Wed, Oct 30, 2024
Time: 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM EDT
Registration Link: Registration (gotowebinar.com)
This session will provide an in-depth discussion of techniques and tips to improve the documentation of all aspects of a DUI Investigation. This presentation is taught from a prosecutor's perspective and is designed to assist the law enforcement officer in improving his or her DUI Reports, so that a prosecutor can better use them to succeed in court. It will also serve as a way for prosecutors to better understand what needs to be included in a DUI Report so that they can work to better educate the law enforcement officers that they deal with. A variety of DUI Reports submitted from various agencies in actual DUI Prosecutions -- both good and bad examples -- will be discussed and serve as examples of how to better prepare and use the DUI Alcohol/Drug Influence Report in DUI cases.
Title: How to Make Step Ten a 10 Out of 10! (1.5 Hours)
Date: Wed, Nov 6, 2024
Time: 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM EST
Registration Link: Registration (gotowebinar.com)
Making Step Ten a 10 out of 10 focuses on obtaining information from the subject being evaluated using non-confrontational interview techniques. Participants will be provided with examples of how to build a rapport that will lead to open discussion and statements. Using personal life experiences, a DRE can make the subject being evaluated feel comfortable to discuss their drug use, often times resulting in the subject making strong disclosures that will be helpful in a successful DRE evaluation and prosecution of the impaired operator.
Title: Mythbusters: Taking a Close Look at Modern SFST Research (1.0 Hours)
Date: Wed, Nov 13, 2024
Time: 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM EST
Registration Link: Registration (gotowebinar.com)
Contemporary research of the effectiveness of field sobriety tests (FST) has called into question the value these roadside tests offer to police. This session will examine the methodologies used in recent research conducted by Johns Hopkins University, Massachusetts General Hospital, and UCSD to assess the correlation of the scientific studies to real world outcomes and to better prepare the DUI investigator to address these challenges in court.
Title: Visual Trial: The Art of Prosecuting a DUI Case (1.5 Hours)
Date: Wed, Dec 11, 2024
Time: 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM EST
Registration Link: Registration (gotowebinar.com)
Trials are all about adult learning styles, but so rarely do prosecutors understand that they need a visual trial to keep their jurors engaged when prosecuting DUI offenses. This training is designed to familiarize prosecutors with visual aids that would be useful in a DUI trial and how to use them with testifying witnesses to better present the DUI case to a jury. Trials -- especially DUI trials -- are an art that needs to be more visual, and this training is designed to explain the evidence rules, illustrative v. demonstrative, and how to actually conduct the visual trial in a DUI case.
Title: Working Professionally with DUI Victims & Survivors (1.5 Hours)
Date: Wed, Dec 18, 2024
Time: 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM EST
Registration Link: Registration (gotowebinar.com)
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: A Wild Ride: Psychedelics & Impaired Driving (1.5 Hours)
Date: Tue, Jan 14, 2025
Time: 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM EST
Registration Link: Registration (gotowebinar.com)
Hallucinogens such as psilocybin, LSD, and MDMA have recently garnered research and media attention as potential therapies for depression, PTSD, and other psychological disorders. Some jurisdictions in the United States, including Oregon and Colorado, have decriminalized psilocybin and other natural hallucinogens, such as mescaline and dimethyltryptamine (DMT). In 2021 and 2022, crime laboratories observed significant increases in psilocybin/psilocin drug seizure submissions. However, due to historically low prevalence and challenges in toxicology testing, involvement of psychedelics in impaired driving may be difficult to identify. The relevance, pharmacology, and potential impact of hallucinogens on traffic safety will be presented and explored. This workshop is supported by the SOFT/AAFS Drugs and Driving Committee.
Title: DRE and the IACP 2025: Updates & Enhancements (1.5 Hours)
Date: Tue, Feb 25, 2025
Time: 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM EST
Registration Link: Registration (gotowebinar.com)
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.
Title: Driving Under the Influence of Dissociative Anesthetics: Pharmacology & Case Profiles (1.5 Hours)
Date: Tue, Mar 18, 2025
Time: 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM EDT
Registration Link: Registration (gotowebinar.com)
Dissociative anesthetics are a class of psychedelic drugs that induce a type of anesthesia characterized by catalepsy, amnesia, marked analgesia, minimal respiratory depression, and feeling of detachment from one’s environment. Phencyclidine (PCP), ketamine, and dextromethorphan belong to this class, which induce dissociative anesthetic effects via antagonism of the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor. In this workshop, attendees will learn pharmacology of main dissociative anesthetics, including chemical structures, mechanism of action, metabolism, and other pharmacokinetic parameters to be considered when evaluating the effects of the drugs during impaired driving investigations. This workshop will also cover emergence and prevalence of novel dissociative anesthetics (PCP and ketamine analogs), as well as findings from the extensive case study on PCP-positive drivers in Houston over 10 years. This workshop is supported by the SOFT/AAFS Drugs and Driving Committee.
Title: Cannabis and the Eyes (1.5 Hours)
Date: Tue, Apr 22, 2025
Time: 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM EDT
Registration Link: Registration (gotowebinar.com)
As cannabis DUI cases are on the rise, it is crucial for both prosecutors and law enforcement to understand the specifics behind cannabis impairment. A hotly discussed issue in this realm is that of the effects of Cannabis on the Eyes. This session will seek to educate both prosecutors and law enforcement on this important area. It will describe and discuss various changes to pupil responses and eye movements that can occur with cannabis impairment, including: mydriasis, rebound dilation, eyelid tremors, lack of convergence, lack of smooth pursuit, and saccadic intrusions.