Submitted by: Roadway Safety Committee

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WHEREAS, impaired driving has a profound impact on society and public safety in terms of grievous injuries, senseless death, and significant property damage; and despite a 50% decrease in alcohol-impaired driving fatalities since 1982, more than 10,000 people are killed in alcohol-impaired driving crashes annually (NHTSA, 2017), and

WHEREAS, the growing number of states legalizing marijuana and the spread of the opioid epidemic across the country has given rise to increased concerns related to the appropriate detection, investigation, prosecution, and adjudication of drug-impaired driving, and

WHEREAS, the inability to obtain a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) test result or evidence of drug use, (especially in cases of refusal) effectively impedes or negates an officers’ ability to gather crucial and intensely time-sensitive evidence in the form of blood or other bodily fluids, and

WHEREAS, the establishment and implementation of electronic warrant (eWarrant) programs to compel blood draws or samples of other bodily fluids have proven timely and successful in several jurisdictions (Responsibility.org, A Guide to Implementing Electronic Warrants, 2018), utilizing a variety of systems, from simple PDF documents to web-based systems to quickly and accurately obtain evidence in the violent crime of impaired driving, and

WHEREAS, in recognition of the technology available to law enforcement agencies across the country, Responsibility.org’s study and collaboration with the Justice Management Institute clearly identifies a spectrum of eWarrant systems that can assist jurisdictions in their fight against impaired driving; including recommended legislative framework, planning and design, partner engagement, funding, policy and operations, and metrics to assess goals, and

RESOLVED, that the IACP supports the development, implementation, and legislative engagement of eWarrant systems by law enforcement agencies and prosecutors to prevent injury and death on our nation’s roadways.