South Dakota to Increase its Efforts to Detect Impaired Drivers

Your chances of getting busted for impaired driving just increased in South Dakota.

The state of South Dakota has just added nine new law enforcement officers who are highly trained in detecting and arresting drivers under the influence of drugs and alcohol.

Dakota News Now is reporting that nine South Dakota law enforcement officers recently finished a series of specialized training courses designed to improve their ability to detect impaired drivers.

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The Beresford Police Department, Box Elder Police Department, Cheyenne River Sioux Tribal Police, Hand County Sheriff's Office, Lincoln County Sheriff's Office, South Dakota Highway Patrol, Turner County Sheriff's Office, Vermillion Police Department, and the Watertown Police Department all sent an officer to participate in a Drug Recognition Expert Class that was recently held in Sioux Falls.

The classes took place over a three-week period. Two weeks were spent in the classroom for instruction, with an additional week evaluating drug-impaired subjects in Sacramento, California.

The training courses helped to refine an officer's ability to spot signs of impairment in drivers under the influence of drugs. The class taught them to follow a 12-step evaluation process that is used to identify the specific categories of drugs causing the impairment.

South Dakota is using the DRE classes to up its efforts to reduce the number of impaired drivers throughout the state by increasing the volume of Drug Recognition Experts it has out in the field.

According to Dakota News Now, there are over 7,300 Drug Recognition Experts nationwide. South Dakota currently employs a total of 65 DREs in its various law enforcement agencies.

Source: Dakota News Now