Drug-Impaired Driving Investigation

Transcription

1 Drug-Impaired Driving Investigation Michel Pilon, Expert Advisor in Highway Safety and Provincial Advisor for the Drug Evaluation and Classification Program (DECP) École nationale de police du Québec CARSP Conference, May 27-30, 2015, Ottawa

2 True or false Did You Know? Canadians are the heaviest consumers of psychotropic medications in the world (2008). True One in ( ) Canadians has used a drug other than cannabis (2010)? 6 How many persons in this room, myself included, have already consumed a drug? 20% - 50 % - 90 %???

3 One of the Elements of the Answer is in the Definition of the Word Drug What is a drug? Any substance that, when taken into the human body, can impair the ability of the person to operate a motor vehicle safely. (Definition taken from the Drug Evaluation and Classification Program).

4 What are these Substances? The substances can be separated into two groups Illicit drugs Marijuana Cocaine PCP Heroin Etc. Legal drugs Alcohol Medications prescribed by a doctor Inhalants (volatile solvents, aerosols )

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6 Standards The International Standards of the Drug Evaluation and Classification Program A Product of The DEC Standards Revision Subcommittee of the Technical Advisory Panel of the IACP Highway Safety Committee Revised October 2012

7 Training of drug recognition experts Experts accredited by the International Association of Chiefs of Police Experts who can identify the signs and symptoms of a person under the influence of one or several drug categories.

8 Training Training of patrol officers (24 hours) Administration of the standardized field sobriety tests Training of drug recognition experts who are certified and accredited by the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) Theoretical/classroom training (80 hours ) Practical/field training (40 hours) Annual information day

9 Training offered in all Canadian provinces Offered in Quebec since 2008 Over 4,000 drug recognition experts in the United States and in Canada Over 75 in Quebec Over 425 evaluations carried out in Quebec in 2014.

10 How is the Impaired Driving Investigation Conducted? It is conducted in two stages: 1) On the roadside (interception) 2) A the police station

11 Standardized Field Sobriety Tests The standardized field sobriety tests (SFST) are: The horizontal gaze nystagmus test; Video 2 The walk-and-turn test; The one-leg stand test.

12 Standardized Field Sobriety Tests

13 Step 2 Evaluation by a Drug Recognition Expert

14 Evaluation by the Drug Recognition Expert (a) Preliminary examination Measuring the pulse; Determining that the pupils are the same size;

15 Evaluation by the Drug Recognition Expert Determining that the eyes track an object equally; [cont d] Note: The evaluating officer always wears protective gloves when conducting an evaluation on a subject.

16 Evaluation by the Drug Recognition Expert [cont d] (b) Eye examinations, which consist of: the horizontal gaze nystagmus test; the vertical gaze nystagmus test; the lack-ofconvergence test.

17 Evaluation by the Drug Recognition Expert [cont d] (c) Divided-attention tests, which consist of: The Romberg balance test; The walk-and-turn test; The one-leg stand test; The finger-to-nose test, which includes the test subject tilting the head back and touching the tip of their index finger to the tip of their nose in a specified manner while keeping their eyes closed.

18 Evaluation by the Drug Recognition Expert [cont d] (d) An examination, which consists of measuring the: blood pressure; temperature; pulse.

19 Evaluation by the Drug Recognition Expert [cont d] In a dark room (e) Examination of pupil sizes under light levels of: ambient light; total darkness; direct light.

20 Evaluation by the Drug Recognition Expert [cont d] (e) Examination of the oral cavities; nasal cavities.

21 Evaluation by the Drug Recognition Expert [cont d] (f) Examination which consists of checking: the muscle tone; and pulse.

22 Evaluation by the Drug Recognition Expert [cont d] (g) A visual examination of: the arms; neck; and, if exposed, the legs. for evidence of injection sites.

23 Evaluation by the Drug Recognition Expert [cont d] If, on completion of the evaluation, the expert has reasonable grounds to believe that the person s ability to operate a motor vehicle is impaired, the person will have to provide the following sample of bodily substances: oral fluid or urine or samples of blood.

24 Corroboration of the Drug Recognition Expert s Conclusion Next steps: Analysis of the sample of the bodily substance by the Forensic laboratory to corroborate the evaluation made by the drug recognition expert. A request to institute proceedings to the Crown prosecutor if the analysis from the Forensic laboratory corroborates the expert s conclusion.

25 Conclusion Joint Work Provincial prevention program. Team work Vaccin Operation Advertisements of the Société d assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ) Provincial Consultative Committee

26 Thank you!