Focus: Any peace officer, corrections personnel.
Length: 20 hours
NOTE: This class may be shortened to an 8-hour "orientation" course.
This course presents the finest instruction in assisting officers and correctional personnel with skills and knowledge regarding the effects of various legal and illegal drugs affecting offenders. Participants will be provided with instruction on all major drug classifications required by peace officers and others who must deal with under-the-influence persons.
This course provides you with the expertise to recognize the signs of intoxication and being under the influence, to safely and properly examine the subject, as well as to competently testify as to your observations of the subject’s behavior and objective signs. This tool for the prosecution of the drug and alcohol offender results in better convictions as well as increased safety for the officer in the field.
Civil liability mitigation is enhanced as well. With courts excluding toxicological reports due to a lack of officer description of the objective signs of being under-the-influence, civil juries are not able to gain a clear understanding of the officer's "totality of the facts and circumstances" known to him or her at the time. This course increases the expertise of any officer and the likelihood of more comprehensive testimony.