NEW DRUG RECOGNITION EXPERTS WORKING TO KEEP STREETS SAFER

MIRAMICHI - The breathalyzer may be a good tool for catching drunk
drivers but for years officers had little way of picking up on other
forms of impairment unless a driver was blatantly, falling over, high.

That is, until now.

The drug recognition evaluation is a 12 step process of psychophysical testing.

"The test will not only show whether or not the person is impaired
but also the category of drug they have been using," said Const.
Cheryl Seeley of the Miramichi Police Force.

Two MPF officers, Seeley and Const. Ed Goodfellow were trained as
Drug Recognition Experts through federal funding at the beginning of
this year. An officer with the District 6 RCMP has been trained as well.

These testing practices are standardized worldwide, so a person
caught in British Columbia or Wisconsin will undergo the same tests
as those in Miramichi.

The two police officers underwent an intense two week training course
followed by four days of practical training at a jail in Phoenix.

"The Maricopa County Jail has an intake of 300 people a day,"
explained Goodfellow. "Each person who comes in is checked for drugs
and our methods are tested against their urine sample."

Along with the training comes a kit each officer receives with all
the tools they need to perform their tests. The kit bag includes a
stethoscope, thermometer, flashlight and magnifying glass.

"There is no magic black box," said Seeley, comparing these tests to
blowing into a breathalyzer.

The officers received accreditation from the International
Association of Chiefs of Police and both said this has made them more
confident in searching out impaired drivers.

"Before, a driver would have to be blatantly high for us to be able
to arrest him," said Seeley.

Goodfellow said before this training he arrested only one driver who
was convicted of being impaired by a drug other than alcohol.

"And he was passed out at the wheel when I found him."

Since they began using the standardized field sobriety testing at the
start of the year they say they have picked up a lot more people and
are more confident in laying charges.

Goodfellow has picked up 12 drivers for impairment since January
while Seeley has picked up eight.

Last month Goodfellow said he pulled a man over on suspicion of
impaired driving, but the man showed negative for alcohol on the
screening test. Due to his new training the officer was able to
discern exactly what the man was high on and arrest him.

"If it had been a year ago we would have had to let the man walk,"
said Goodfellow.

The officers said they expect a lot of impaired drivers to be
surprised by what their tests will actually pick up on.

"A lot of people don't realize they are going to get caught," said Seeley.

"Some people think it is okay to smoke marijuana and drive because
they don't consider themselves to be impaired. But they are impaired."

And that's what the officers say they want drivers to remember more
than anything else.

"We want people to know it is not safe to smoke any type of cannabis
and drive. And that red warning on your prescription bottle that says
don't operate heavy machinery is there for a reason," said Goodfellow.

Ultimately he believes the training they've received will go a long
way to keeping the streets in the community safer.

"For every impaired driver off the roads that is potentially
someone's child who won't get run over."

Deputy Chief Paul Fiander agrees. He said the impact of having two
officers trained has been immediate.

"We have a number of cases before the courts. Before, that may not
have happened."

Fiander said ideally the police force want to have two more patrol
officers trained and are seriously considering sending others to the
next available training session.

"We would like to have one [drug recognition expert officer] on each
platoon. The two trained officers are on an on-call schedule when not
on shift. They can be called in to provide assistance at a road stop
if it is needed."

Overall Fiander said the training has built confidence with the
officers and within the department.

"Rather than question if a person is impaired or not, they can feel
comfortable with the testing and the decision to call the drug
recognition expert officer to the scene."