Blake was tragically killed in an accident by an offender that was high on drugs. As a family we have searched for a way to get drug impaired drivers off the road and through our discussion with the District Attorney and some research, we came upon the DRE program in Texas. The DA told us that convictions for drug impaired driving are much harder to win, given drugs are sometimes harder to detect and require blood to be drawn for confirmation. The DRE is the conduit between the offense/offender and the conviction to get drug impaired drivers off of our roads.
The BeABlake Foundations has partnered with the state of Texas and its DRE program to help peace officers in Texas to obtain this certification by offering scholarships to assist with the costs of attending the program. The program itself is funded by the state of Texas, but each department has to fund the officer with money to provide housing and food for the duration of the program. Many smaller departments do not have the budget to send these officers, therefore, we are stepping in to help.
Here is a little more to help explain with the DRE certifications are critical:
A drug recognition expert (DRE), sometimes referred to as a drug recognition evaluator, is an individual who has successfully completed all phases of the Drug Evaluation and Classification Program's (DECP) training requirements for certification as established by the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). A DRE is skilled in detecting and identifying persons under the influence of drugs and in identifying the category or categories of drugs causing the impairment.
A DRE conducts a detailed, diagnostic examination of persons arrested or suspected of drug-impaired driving or similar offenses. Based on the results of the drug evaluation, the DRE forms an expert opinion on the following:
DREs conduct their evaluations in a controlled environment, typically at police precincts, intake centers, troop headquarters or other locations where impaired drivers are transported after arrest. The drug evaluation is not normally done at roadside and is typically a post-arrest procedure.
In some cases, the person evaluated will be a driver the DRE personally arrested. In many cases, however, the DRE will be called upon to conduct the evaluation after the driver was arrested by another officer. The DRE is requested to assist in the investigation because of his or her special expertise and skills in identifying drug impairment.
The DRE evaluates and assesses the person’s appearance and behavior. The DRE also carefully measures and records vital signs and makes precise observations of the person’s automatic responses and reactions. The DRE also administers carefully designed psychophysical tests to evaluate the person’s judgment, information processing ability, coordination and various other characteristics. The DRE will systematically consider everything about the person that could indicate the influence of drugs.
FACT: 49.7% of all alcohol related fatalities also tested positive for drugs as well.
With your help, we can bring an end to impaired driving while caring for the victims of this 100% preventable crime.
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