An inside look at drug recognition expert training

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — At a nearly two-week-long course in Rutherford County, officers from all over Tennessee are training to become Drug Recognition Experts, or DREs.

DREs go through extensive training to become certified to identify drugged driving and determine the type of drug used. They even aid in the prosecution of driving under the influence cases.

“We have currently 338 Drug Recognition Experts across the state, and over half of them have been deemed experts and testified in actual cases with convictions,” said John Mayes, state coordinator of the DRE program for the Tennessee Highway Safety Office. He said the first DRE program was created by the Los Angeles Police Department in the 1970s. The International Association of Chiefs of Police teamed up with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to institute the program nationwide.

“We would love to train every police officer across the state in drugged driving,” Mayes said. “We’re going to try to make it a mission to get as many as we can each and every year.”

The training is free. Officers must be recommended for the program and complete prerequisites. The cornerstone is learning the 12-step DRE protocol, which includes vital signs, a dark room examination and field sobriety tests. Psycho-physical and divided attention tests help officers assess short-term memory, balance and muscle control.

The training culminates with a final exam and real-life evaluations of suspects who have been arrested. Mayes said DREs save lives by making the roadways safer for all drivers.

“You’re saving everybody’s lives out there to include their own and helping to identify somebody that could have potentially have a drug problem, getting them off the street and making sure that everybody goes home at the end of the shift,” Mayes said.

DRE certification is good for two years. Officers must take part in continuing education and complete re-certification training.

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