DRE Data Analysis & Reporting 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is the primary purpose of maintaining a DRE case log or tracking database at the agency level?
- To monitor individual officer overtime hours
- To track conviction rates for performance reviews
- To identify drug trends, evaluate training needs, and support resource allocation (Correct answer)
- To replace the need for individual case reports
Correct answer: To identify drug trends, evaluate training needs, and support resource allocation
Agency-level DRE databases aggregate evaluation data to identify substance trends, measure program effectiveness, and guide policy decisions.
Question 2: During data review, a supervisor notices that a DRE officer's evaluations consistently produce no opinion on drug category. What does this pattern MOST likely indicate?
- The officer is working in a low-drug area
- Possible training deficiency or incomplete evaluations (Correct answer)
- Superior caution and objectivity
- Subjects are regularly sober
Correct answer: Possible training deficiency or incomplete evaluations
Consistent failure to render an opinion suggests the officer may need remedial training or is not completing evaluations thoroughly.
Question 3: A DRE report shows horizontal gaze nystagmus (HGN) onset before 45 degrees but the officer opined CNS stimulant impairment. Why is this report data problematic?
- HGN onset before 45 degrees is not a valid SFST result
- HGN is a primary indicator of CNS depressants or inhalants, not stimulants (Correct answer)
- Stimulants always suppress nystagmus completely
- HGN cannot be used in DRE evaluations
Correct answer: HGN is a primary indicator of CNS depressants or inhalants, not stimulants
Early HGN onset is associated with CNS depressants, dissociative anesthetics, and inhalants — its presence in a stimulant opinion creates an internal inconsistency.
Question 4: When a DRE officer submits a urine sample for toxicological analysis, which information is MOST critical to include on the chain of custody form?
- Subject's criminal history
- Date, time, collector identity, and seal integrity documentation (Correct answer)
- The officer's preliminary drug category opinion
- The subject's last known address
Correct answer: Date, time, collector identity, and seal integrity documentation
Chain of custody requires documenting who collected the sample, when, and that integrity seals were intact to ensure the sample is legally defensible.
Question 5: In DRE data analysis, a 'false positive' evaluation occurs when:
- The officer correctly identifies drug impairment confirmed by toxicology
- The officer opines drug impairment but toxicology is negative (Correct answer)
- Toxicology detects a drug the officer did not identify
- The subject refuses a blood draw
Correct answer: The officer opines drug impairment but toxicology is negative
A false positive in DRE evaluation means the officer concluded drug impairment was present but toxicological analysis found no impairing substance.
Question 6: Which document type provides the legal foundation for a DRE officer to request a blood or urine sample from a subject who has not been arrested?
- DRE Drug Influence Evaluation Form
- Search warrant or implied consent advisement (Correct answer)
- Field sobriety test checklist
- Agency DRE program certification letter
Correct answer: Search warrant or implied consent advisement
Biological sample collection requires either the subject's informed consent under implied consent laws or a judicially issued search warrant.
Question 7: An analyst reviewing statewide DRE data notices a 40% increase in cannabis category opinions over 18 months. What additional data would BEST contextualize this finding?
- Total number of DREs conducted and regional population changes (Correct answer)
- Individual officer training dates
- Average subject age in cannabis cases
- Number of DRE instructors in the state
Correct answer: Total number of DREs conducted and regional population changes
Controlling for the total evaluation volume and population shifts prevents misinterpreting increased raw numbers as a true prevalence increase.
DRE Data Analysis & Reporting 3
What is the primary purpose of maintaining a DRE case log or tracking database at the agency level?