DRE Flashback: Certification

DRE Flashback: Certification.
The International Association of Chiefs of Police issues certification credentials for Drug Recognition Experts. The actual certification comes from the state/provincial coordinator. But it wasn't always like this. Before the IACP became the credentialing body for DREs, DREs were certified by the Los Angeles Police Department. In fact, the first Arizona DREs (Bob Hohn, Bob Holliday, Bob Sparks and John Patla) were initially certified by the LAPD. Prior to the LAPD issuing certification, Los Angeles DREs were certified by the Prosecution Division of the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office. A list of officers who had completed drug influence training was submitted to the City Attorney's Office, accompanied by complete resumes. The City Attorney's office then compiled a list of officers that were "certified," and used this list to determine which officers they would be willing to attempt to qualify as experts in court. Once qualified as an expert in court, the officer was considered to be a  "court-qualified expert."  So, as you can see, the DRE program has a long history of working closely with prosecutors.