DRE Professional Standards & Ethics 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is the primary purpose of the IACP Drug Evaluation and Classification (DEC) Program's quality assurance reviews?
- To increase arrest rates for drug-impaired driving
- To ensure evaluations are conducted consistently, accurately, and ethically across agencies (Correct answer)
- To evaluate which drug categories are most commonly encountered
- To reduce the time required to complete an evaluation
Correct answer: To ensure evaluations are conducted consistently, accurately, and ethically across agencies
Quality assurance reviews exist to uphold consistency, accuracy, and ethical practice across all DRE evaluations nationwide.
Question 2: A DRE is aware that a colleague submitted a falsified evaluation report. What is the ethical obligation?
- Address it privately with the colleague first and allow correction
- Report the misconduct through proper agency channels immediately (Correct answer)
- Ignore it unless the case goes to trial
- Only act if asked about it during testimony
Correct answer: Report the misconduct through proper agency channels immediately
Falsifying official reports is a serious ethical and legal violation that must be reported through proper agency channels without delay.
Question 3: Which of the following best describes the DRE's role relative to the arresting officer in a DUID case?
- The DRE supersedes the arresting officer's authority over the case
- The DRE provides an independent expert evaluation to support or supplement the arresting officer's observations (Correct answer)
- The DRE must agree with all observations made by the arresting officer
- The DRE takes over the investigation from the point of evaluation
Correct answer: The DRE provides an independent expert evaluation to support or supplement the arresting officer's observations
The DRE serves as an independent expert whose evaluation supplements but does not replace the arresting officer's role in the investigation.
Question 4: Continuing education requirements for DRE recertification primarily serve to:
- Satisfy union contract requirements for law enforcement
- Keep officers current with evolving drug trends, research, and protocol updates (Correct answer)
- Meet minimum state training hours unrelated to DRE practice
- Document the number of evaluations conducted in the prior period
Correct answer: Keep officers current with evolving drug trends, research, and protocol updates
Continuing education ensures DREs remain current with new substances, pharmacological research, and any updates to the DEC protocol.
Question 5: A DRE evaluating a subject discovers the subject has a medical condition that mimics drug impairment. The most ethical course of action is to:
- Ignore the medical condition and complete the evaluation as normal
- Document the medical condition, note its potential influence on findings, and recommend medical evaluation if appropriate (Correct answer)
- Conclude the evaluation and attribute all signs to drug use
- Decline to form an opinion because any opinion would be speculative
Correct answer: Document the medical condition, note its potential influence on findings, and recommend medical evaluation if appropriate
Ethical practice requires documenting medical conditions that may affect findings and recommending medical evaluation when appropriate.
Question 6: What ethical standard governs the DRE officer's use of force during a DRE evaluation?
- DRE officers may use whatever force is needed to complete all 12 steps
- Force must comply with applicable agency policy and Fourth Amendment standards; evaluation steps requiring cooperation may be skipped if refused (Correct answer)
- The DRE protocol supersedes standard use-of-force policies
- Minimal force is always acceptable to obtain a blood sample
Correct answer: Force must comply with applicable agency policy and Fourth Amendment standards; evaluation steps requiring cooperation may be skipped if refused
DRE evaluations must comply with agency use-of-force policies and constitutional requirements; uncooperative subjects may result in incomplete evaluations.
Question 7: Which scenario represents an appropriate boundary for a DRE officer's expert opinion?
- Identifying the specific drug by brand name based on evaluation alone
- Opining that the subject's impairment is consistent with influence of a particular drug category (Correct answer)
- Determining the exact blood concentration of the drug present
- Diagnosing the subject with a substance use disorder
Correct answer: Opining that the subject's impairment is consistent with influence of a particular drug category
DRE opinions are limited to drug category consistency based on clinical indicators; specific drug identification, concentrations, and diagnoses exceed DRE scope.
DRE Professional Standards & Ethics 3
What is the primary purpose of the IACP Drug Evaluation and Classification (DEC) Program's quality assurance reviews?