Dillion Receives Certification

Dane Dillion may be a fairly new face on Black River Technical College’s Pocahontas campus however he is already proving he was the right choice for campus police.

Dillion, who previously worked for the Pocahontas Police Department, has recently become a drug recognition expert (DRE). Of the 9,000 police officers in Arkansas only 176 of them are DRE’s. While still at the Pocahontas Police Department he asked if he could go through the training.

Dillion’s training began last September when he went to the Arkansas Law Enforcement Training Academy in Camden were he learned how to evaluate a person suspected of drug-impairment. He went through 12 evaluations with each lasting an hour and a half. The training was intense however Dillion can now evaluate the seven drug categories.

BRTC benefits because Dillion can tell the difference between drug impairment or when it’s a medical condition someone is suffering from. To keep his skills sharp Dillion plans to ride the BAT mobile and help with the checkpoints. He encourages faculty and staff to contact him if they have any questions.

In the future Dillion hopes to become a DRE instructor. \”As I transition from \”street-level law enforcement\” to providing law enforcement services tailored to an institution of higher-education, I see the value of learning every single day. I plan to use this insight to further my law enforcement instruction background, to help bring more DRE\’s to this area. Until then, because my DRE certification has reciprocity throughout the state, I hope to be an asset to any department in Northeast Arkansas who needs someone with my particular skill set.\”