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The Iowa
Drug Recognition Expert
Program |
The Program
The Iowa Drug Evaluation and Classification (DEC) Program is administered by the Iowa Governor's Traffic Safety Bureau (GTSB). The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) provides the funding for the training costs. The International Association of Chief's of Police (IACP) and NHTSA developed the training curriculum certification and re-certification of the officers as Drug Recognition Experts (DREs). As a DRE, the officer is able to determine if a subject is impaired and unable to operate a motor vehicle in a safe manner. The DRE rules out medical reasons for impairment. Several cases have been documented where the DRE has saved the life of a subject by referring them to medical care. After the 12-step evaluation, the DRE determines which category of drugs is influencing the subject at the time of the evaluation. The goal is to reduce drug impaired driving crashes.
In 1991, Iowa became the 24th DEC Program state. Since then, 13 classes have been completed, resulting in 125 active DRE officers, including 14 instructors, being trained and available in 52 counties. The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) laboratory conducts the toxicologic testing for the DRE Program. The successful prosecution of a DRE case is dependent upon the teamwork of the DRE, DCI Lab, the County Attorneys' Office and the Prosecuting Attorney's Training Council.
There are currently 45 DRE states participating in the program with over 8,000 DREs and instructors.
Agency Responsibilities
Agencies that wish to participate in the DRE Program should be aware of the following commitments and expectations:
- Strong agency support for traffic enforcement
Ongoing OWI public information and education
- A training commitment of 19 days
Participating agencies are requested to demonstrate their commitment to the DEC Program in several ways:
- Encourage the DRE to aggressively seek opportunities to utilize their expertise
Allow the DRE to respond to calls for DRE evaluations whenever possible
- Make the 8 hour "Drugs that Impair" workshop available to other peace officers
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DRE Candidates
DRE candidates must meet the following criteria:
- Certified peace officer Certified in SFST Certified in OWI/traffic enforcement and prosecution
- Submit a letter and subsequent application for review
The DRE school consists of two Phases:
- Phase I: 10 day school
- Phase II: in-state/out-of-state certification, up to 9 nights
The DRE is required to maintain a log of evaluations and requests, and submit it quarterly to the state DEC Program Manager. |
DRE Brochure
A DRE Program Brochure is available. The brochure is sent to all prospective DRE candidate agencies.
New DRE Training Schools
The 2008 DRE Training School is scheduled for September 15 - 26, 2008 in Ames, Iowa.
Certification in-state is September 26 - 27, 2008 at Iowa State Patrol District 1 Office, 260 N.W. 48th Place,
Des Moines, IA 50313.
Out of State certification will be in October 2008 - the exact date will be determined at a later date.
Annual DRE Conference
The 2008 DRE Conference is scheduled for August 10 - 13, 2008 in Indianapolis, Indiana. For further information visit the International Drug Recognition Expert web site at www.decp.org or the International Association of Chiefs of Police web site at www.iacp.org. Any agency with questions regarding this conference, please call Denny Becker at (515) 725-6128 or e-mail at becker@dps.state.ia.us.
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