Kendall County Deputy Earns Drug Recognition Certification

Submitted by the Kendall County Sheriff’s Office:

This past April, Deputy Kevin Vaclavik completed training through the International Association of Chiefs of Police and National Highway Transportation Safety Administration to become a certified Drug Recognition Expert, the Kendall County Sheriff’s Department announced in a press release.

Vaclavik started the rigorous certification process June of 2013 when he attended a two week training course covering, among other things, advanced training on field sobriety testing, signs and symptoms of drug use and impairment, and the drug evaluation process.

After completing the classroom portion of the training, Vaclavik took part in practical training which took several months to complete. The practical training included administering evaluations on willing subjects who were under the influence of a drug or combination of drugs. The final step in the certification process was a final knowledge exam, which was administered in April.

The DRE program started in the 1970s in Los Angeles, CA, but has recently been gaining momentum across the country. With the legalization of marijuana in Colorado and Washington and medical marijuana soon coming to Illinois, there is a possibility of many more motorists operating vehicles while under the influence of marijuana or other drugs. This training is very important in recognizing, arresting, and prosecuting subjects observed to be driving while impaired by substances other than alcohol.

Currently, there are approximately 7,000 certified DRE officers nationwide. That is less than 1 percent of all law enforcement officers in the United States.

In Illinois, there are approximately 36,000 sworn police officers but only approximately 65 are certified DREs. The Kendall County Sheriff’s Office employs one of those 65 certified DREs, and Vaclavik is working diligently to keep the streets of Kendall County safe, police said.