The University of Maryland Driving Under the Influence (DUI) Institute is in its twentieth year of operation and this year marks the twenty-first institute. The Institute began as a series of discussions between the Maryland Highway Safety Office and the University of Maryland, and grew out of the observation that there was a need to build a high-quality, academic course for law enforcement agents who were or who wanted to be leaders in the area of alcohol-impaired driving enforcement. As such, it was felt that additional training was needed for those officers who wanted to increase their ability to make high-quality alcohol-impaired driving arrests (ones that result in convictions), as well as for those who wanted to build their resumes for future promotions in rank. In addition, it was recognized that a certain culture may exist where some patrol officers may be reluctant to arrest alcohol-impaired drivers, especially those who are at the borderline level, given the amount of work surrounding alcohol-impaired driving arrest, the perceived aggravation in court, and their own lack of training and confidence in handling a more technical case. A series of in-depth discussions and interviews were conducted with potential students and with content experts as to the nature and the sequencing of the instructional units that would comprise the course. In the end, it was decided that the curriculum would be a 40-hour course taught at a college level by university faculty & national experts. At its onset, the training was intended to be especially rigorous and requires successful completion of an objective examination. | | ► 2024 Dates June 2 - 7, 2024 ► Extended! Application site will close at 5:00pm ET on Wed, March 27, 2024. ► Anticipated decisions to be made by April 1, 2024. |