British Officers Attend Specialized Training in Folsom

The Folsom Police Department, in partnership with the California Highway Patrol, is hosting two British Police Officers from the Hampshire Constabulary for Drug Recognition Evaluator (D.R.E.) training in Folsom January 14th-24th 2008.

Constables James Fibbens and Paul Brown are participating in the D.R.E. training program, an effective means for peace officers to successfully learn to identify and evaluate individuals under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol.

The program is sponsored by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and certified by the International Association of Chiefs of Police and the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training. The C.H.P. is the California statewide coordinator of this highly successful and respected program.

Constable Paul Brown is a former British Army officer and 12-year veteran of the Hampshire Constabulary. He works on a Motorcycle Team, assigned to the Impaired Driver Unit. Constable James Fibbens is assigned to the Traffic Department of the Hampshire Constabulary, also with duties in the Impaired Driver Unit. He is certified in Britain as a National Drug Recognition Instructor, instructing other British peace offices in the administration of Field Impairment Tests of suspected D.U.I. drivers.

Students in the challenging 64-hour D.R.E. course participate in classroom, laboratory, and field exercises designed to ensure their expertise in the detection and evaluation of drug or alcohol impaired subjects and provide the officers with a solid foundation for courtroom testimony during prosecution of these crimes. “It is in this area that I want to improve so that I can help make our roads safer for our families,” said Hampshire Constable Paul Brown.

The D.R.E. training course in Folsom is taught by Folsom Police Detectives and CHP Officers. Over 40 peace officers from throughout the state of California, including CHP officers from many field offices and officers from local law enforcement agencies are attending this session.

The Folsom PD provides this training annually and has trained approximately 100 officers in the last several years. “Our department is honored to host all of these officers and this prestigious training course. Identifying impaired drivers and individuals under the influence is of paramount importance to the safety of our communities,” said Sergeant Eric Heichlinger of the Folsom Police Department’s Professional Standards and Training Unit.

Alan Gray is the Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of NewsBlaze Daily News and other online newspapers. He prefers to edit, rather than write, but sometimes an issue rears it’s head and makes him start hammering away on the keyboard.

Content Expertise

Alan has been on the internet since it first started. He loves to use his expertise in content and digital marketing to help businesses grow, through managed content services. After living in the United States for 15 years, he is now in South Australia. To learn more about how Alan can help you with content marketing and managed content services, contact him by email.

Technical Expertise

Alan is also a techie. His father was a British soldier in the 4th Indian Division in WWII, with Sikhs and Gurkhas. He was a sergeant in signals and after that, he was a printer who typeset magazines and books on his linotype machine. Those skills were passed on to Alan and his brothers, who all worked for Telecom Australia, on more advanced signals (communications). After studying electronics, communications, and computing at college, and building and repairing all kinds of electronics, Alan switched to programming and team building and management.

He has a fascination with shooting video footage and video editing, so watch out if he points his Canon 7d in your direction.