Pubdate: Thu, 30 Mar 2017
Source: Calgary Sun, The (CN AB)
Copyright: 2017 The Calgary Sun
Contact: http://www.calgarysun.com/letter-to-editor
Website: http://www.calgarysun.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/67
Author: Meghan Potkins
Page: 2

POLICE ON HIGH ALERT

More funding, data sought to help detect drug-impaired driving

The Calgary Police Service wants more information and more funding for
drug impairment recognition training of front-line officers before pot
becomes legal in Canada.

At a meeting of the Calgary police commission this week, CPS outlined
the steps the service is taking following the announcement this week
that the Liberal government will introduce legislation to legalize
marijuana by July 1, 2018.

Sgt. Richard Butler, who heads the force's alcohol and drug
recognition unit, warned the legalization of the drug in other
jurisdictions has been accompanied by a rise in collision rates and
costs associated with policing drug-impaired drivers.

"We certainly expect that with the pending legalization of marijuana
that those calls for (drug recognition) service are definitely going
to increase. We've seen that increase in every state south of the
border we've looked at where they've had a legalization of
recreational marijuana," Butler told commissioners Tuesday.

"We also expect the collision rates to go up. … When we legalize
marijuana in Canada, we're expecting those costs to go up."

Part of the challenge, according to CPS, is that federal funding
initially put into place for Drug Recognition Expert (DRE) training in
2008 has gradually dwindled, and now individual law-enforcement
agencies must shoulder the cost of training officers, including the
costs associated with annual recertification.

Officers trained as DREs administer a 12-step evaluation that can take
as long as an hour to complete to determine whether a driver is
impaired by drugs. A DRE is considered an expert under the provisions
of the Criminal Code.

CPS went from a peak of 17 officers trained as DREs on the force in
2011 to a low of just five officers in 2015.

"We're currently in a rebuilding phase of DRE," Butler said, pointing
out that there are now 13 DRE officers on the force and CPS has
committed to training 10 additional officers in mid-April.

As with all other Canadian law-enforcement agencies, CPS is waiting to
see what shape federal and provincial legislation surrounding
legalization will take, specifically when it comes to sanctions or
criminal charges for people caught driving under the influence of marijuana.

CPS is also waiting to see the results of pilot projects in other
Canadian jurisdictions on roadside saliva tests aimed at detecting
drug-impaired drivers.

"We are looking for more information and we're looking for more
funding from the federal government to support that. If we get those
two things, I'm sure we'll be ready to address whatever happens when
it actually comes," Butler said.
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MAP posted-by: Matt