Pubdate: Thu, 10 Jul 2014
Source: Metro (Calgary, CN AB)
Copyright: 2014 Metro Canada
Contact:  http://www.metronews.ca/Calgary
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4471
Author: Bryan Weismiller
Page: 4
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Testing)

TESTS FOR DRUGGED DRIVERS DECLINE WITH FEWER SPECIALLY TRAINED COPS

DRE: In 2014, Just Three Evaluations Have Been Done on Drivers 
Suspected of Being High Behind the Wheel

Fewer suspected high drivers are being tested as Calgary's team of 
drug-recognition experts continues to be plagued by attrition.

In 2014, only three evaluations have been done on motorists suspected 
of sitting high behind the wheel.

That's down from a total of 11 completed tests last year and 23 in 2012.

The dip in the drug-impairment tests comes as the number of DRE 
agents has fallen to five from 20 over the same span - one more than 
the Red Deer Mounties, who patrol a much smaller population.

Edmonton, for further comConst. Andrew Fairman of the Calgary Police 
Service parison, has 20 DRE officers who have conducted 28 evaluations to date.

Asked why Calgary has seen its DRE ranks dwindle over the past, 
Const. Andrew Fairman, one of the city's last remaining 
drug-recognition experts, explained many of his colleagues have been 
promoted to office jobs or plain-clothes duty, where it's much more 
difficult to answer the police radio calls for test.

"Guys just let their certification expire because we have to maintain 
that certification by doing evaluations over a two year period, he 
said. "There's a minimum number and there's ongoing training that has 
to occur."

Fairman also noted federal funding has dried up, although the 
province did commit a one-time grant of $160,000 in 2012 to support 
an expert coordinator.

In September, Fariman hopes to send a few more officers to Edmonton 
to be certified on the 12-step tests that are typically needed to lay 
criminal charges.

Some have called on Ottawa to move away from the DRE system all together.

Western University law professors Erika Chamberlain and Robert 
Solomon recently declared it unwieldy and hard to use in a study done 
for MADD Canada.

"The DRE process is cumbersome, expensive, and readily susceptible to 
legal challenge, and thus appears to be of limited utility in 
criminal prosecutions," the researchers said.

Police chief Rick Hanson has previously called on the federal 
government to enter "the 20th century" by approving roadside devices 
that detect street drugs such as pot, cocaine and crack.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom