As you might be aware you can often get some incredibly good deals by purchasing your used motorhome at a police auction. Even though these auctions are called ‘Police’ auctions you shouldn’t get lulled into a sense of false security, there are still many risks involved and you are not guaranteed anything more than the fact that the vehicle will run.

In order to minimize the risk involved with buying at one of these auctions you need to know the value of the vehicle you are trying to buy because bidding can at times become fierce and shoot up to levels higher than the value of the motorhome.

You need to know exactly which sort of motorhome you are looking for. An auction viewing is not the time to be perusing several different classes of motorhome. If you are still at this stage then postpone your buying for a while and hire or borrow a similar model to the one you think you might be buying and get completely clear on what sort of motorhome or RV you really need. The viewing period at the auction will be short and all of the time should be spent checking it out for faults.

Being as there will be little time in which to check over one or more rigs then you should prepare a check list before you set out. Make mechanical checks (good idea to take a mechanic with you), check the water system for leaks, examine the fixtures and fittings and the electrical system.

After exploring this question for quite some time, I have come to the conclusion that you do not need tp have any security experience to be a good police candidate. As a professional who has been in the security industry for nearly a decade, I have had the opportunity to discuss many of the questions I had on how to become a police constables with a lot of different officers. Many of these officers would not provide me with a direct answer when I asked them if security experience is relevant in policing.

The reason why I did not receive any direct answer to my question was because there is no direct correlation between security experience and having a better chance of getting hired as a police constable. Over the years, I have met many people who had security experience and were hired because they met the criteria the recruiters were looking for in a candidate. On the other hand, I also know people who had no experience in security but possess the relevant skills required to be a good officer and is now serving with the local police department.

As long as an individual possesses the relevant skills that are highly valued by police recruiters, the field of work they are currently in has no impact on their candidacy. What do police recruiters look for in a candidate? Whenever I posed this question to any officer, the most common answer is LIFE EXPERIENCE.

Life experience has always been a concept that I have found vague and for quite some time, I did not understand what it actually means at the beginning of my career. After further exploration of the concept through interviews with police officers, I have found that this concept is not as complicated as one would think. In order to gain more life experience, one would simply need to go out and start living their life. Police recruiters find that people who have more in experience in life have more to offer on the job. Some examples of what life experience may include: having a child, experiencing death of a loved one, experience in multiple career fields and moving out of your parent’s house.

Police recruiters also value someone who has a lot of VOLUNTEER EXPERIENCE. Candidates who devote their time and get involved within the community demonstrates a commitment to making a difference. The main priority of every police department is to make the community a safer place and an individual who is involved in the community is someone that shares the same objective and mission as law enforcement.

These are the two main experiences police recruiters look for when they hire for the police constable position. As long as you have life and volunteer experience and you are of high moral character you do not need security experience as a stepping stone into a law enforcement career. Although working in the security industry will provide an individual with effective communicational, organizational and analytical thinking skills, these skills can be attained through other career fields as well. In fact, police recruiters are more prone to hiring candidates who does not have experience in security. This creates diversification of police constables from all walks of life.

Mentioned below are some instances when a police clearance certificate is required:

• When a person is applying for a passport,
• When a person is planning on immigrating to another country,
• When applying for certain types of jobs. Certain employers insist on a police clearance certificate,
• When a person plans to marry a foreigner in the partner’s country

The French police clearance certificate is called “Bulletin No. 3” (in French it is “Casier Judiciaire National n°3” or “Extrait de Casier Judiciaire“). French police and judicial records are very well maintained and easy to access. France’s “Directorate of Criminal Affairs and Pardons” is the authority responsible for maintaining a central record of all French criminal records. These centralized criminal records are maintained in Nantes, a city in the West of French and the capital of the French region of “Pays de la Loire”.

To simplify the process of obtaining the French Bulletin No. 3, French authorities offer the below methods of applying for a Bulletin No. 3.:

• Applicant can personally visit and apply at the “Directorate of Criminal Affairs and Pardons” office in Nantes
• Applicant can apply online
• Applicant can send an email to the office in Nantes and they will communicate on the next steps to get a Bulletin No. 3
• Applicant can fill up the Bulletin No. 3 application form and either mail by post or fax it to the office in Nantes

The French authorities are usually quick to respond to request for police clearance certificate. The Bulletin No. 3 is always sent by registered post to the address stated by the applicant. It is never given to anyone other than the applicant. The Bulletin No. 3 is always in French and is printed on a special paper. The Bulletin No. 3 is issued free of cost to all applicants.

Not just French nationals, but also foreigners who have stayed in France, can apply for a French police clearance certificate. Since the certificate is in French, the recipient may want to use the services of a professional translation agency to create a French certified translation of the French police clearance certificate.

If you are wondering why the French police clearance certificate is called “Bulletin No. 3”, it is because the French authorities also issue “Bulletin No. 1” (only issued to authorized judicial personnel) and “Bulletin No. 2” (only issued to specified government and private entities). Bulletin No. 3 is issued to individuals. Individuals do not have access to Bulletin No. 1 and 2.

If you are planning to settle permanently in any foreign country, police clearance certificate is one of the essential documents you will need in order to qualify successfully for the permanent residence visa process. A police clearance certificate is issued to Indian passport holders by the concerned police authorities covering the time period of the applicant’s stay in the particular region. If any applicant has been involved in any kind of illegal activity or was arrested for violating the law anytime, the police clearance certificates notes the entire nature and reasoning of the applicant’s case. In much simple words, a police clearance certificate represents how ethical or unethical your character is in the eyes of law of the counties you have lived after the age of 16 years.

Necessity and validity of the police clearance certificate in the immigration process

It is necessary for a prospective immigration who is 16 years older and currently residing in India to have his criminal check done. If the candidate is an Indian citizen age 16 or older and currently residing in India, whose passport was issued MORE THAN six months prior to their immigrant visa interview date, should obtain a Police Clearance Certificate from both the nearest Indian Passport Office and the District Police in the area in which they reside. However, if their passport was issued LESS THAN six months prior to their interview date, they only need a Police Clearance Certificate from the nearest Indian Passport Office.

Factors that impact police clearance check

The following factors will have an impact on your police clearance check:

• You have a substantial criminal record: By this, it means that past records will be assessed. A sentence(s) of 12 months or more in prison will impact your police check.Also, a suspended sentence is considered as a prison sentence.
• You have been convicted of escaping: In case you have been found guilty of escaping from immigration detention (during or while detention or had escaped and were taken into detention later), it may bring an adverse impact on your PCC.
• You are/were associated to a criminal group: In case you have been a member of organization or group that has bad records and the Minister for Immigration reasonably suspects your involvement in the group/organization criminal activities, it may impact your police check.
• You are/were involved in any crime or offensive acts: If the Minister for Immigration reasonably believes your involvement in criminal acts like human trafficking, smuggling, genocide, sexual offense, torture of slavery, a crime against humanity, a crime of serious international concern, it becomes difficult for you to obtain a PCC.
• Your past records prove you of an immoral character: If your past and presents records show that you are not of a good character and the government of the country thinks that you can be a threat to the country, you will be denied of a police clearance.

Procedure to apply for a police clearance certificate (India):

If you are 16 years or above, you can apply for a PCC at the places listed below, as per the associated conditions:

If you are residing in India and your Indian passport was issued within past 6 months

Apply at the Passport Office

If you are residing in India and your passport was issued more than 6 months prior to visa application

Have to apply at the Passport Office and the District Police Office near your place of residence

If you are an Indian passport holder and is staying outside India

Local Embassy or Consulate confirming you have no criminal record (a statement from Embassy or Consulate is acceptable)

If you are an Indian passport holder and currently resident in India, but has lived in another country (except for the U. S.).

You need to apply at the passport office, d District Police Office serving your place of residence (if the passport was issued more than 6 months prior to visa application) and the country of previous residence (if available)

If you are a non-Indian immigrant visa holder residing in India

Apply at the district Police Office serving the area of your residence

Iodine and Superglue Fuming Methods

Review from Part 1 of this series:

The three contemporary methods used to develop latent fingerprints are:

• Latent print powders: oxide, metallic, combination, fluorescent and magnetic powders
• Chemical development: DFO, Ninhydrin, Silver Nitrate or Physical Developer
• Fuming: Iodine and Superglue fuming

1. A latent fingerprint is one that is generally not visible unless it is treated in some manner. The print itself is composed of moisture-mostly water-but it also contains small amounts of the constituents of perspiration (sweat), like amino acids, lactic acids, creatinine, choline, sugars and uric acid.

2. The palms of the hands and soles of the feet are covered with friction ridges, and these ridges have sweat pores along their surface. Sweat from these two areas has one single kind of sweat glands: Eccrine glands. Only water and the substances listed above are exuded from these glands.

3. Other parts of the body have two other sweat glands: Sebaceous and Apocrine glands. Sebaceous glands exude fatty acids, glycerides and hydrocarbons. In other words these secretions are oily in nature. Sebaceous glands are associated with hair follicles. The Apocrine glands secret water along with ions of sodium, potassium, and iron as well as proteins, carbohydrates and cholesterol.

4. When the hands come into contact with the face and hair they become contaminated with this mix.

Iodine Fuming: Iodine crystals have a unique characteristic-when exposed to air above room temperature they begin a process known to scientists as sublimation. This process is when a solid like iodine crystals converts directly into a gas-iodine fumes. All it takes is a little heat to accelerate the sublimation process.

Iodine fuming is a process used to develop latent fingerprints on porous surfaces such as paper, cardboard and raw wood. Criminalists and crime scene investigators have found this to be a valuable tool for developing latent prints at the crime scene or the crime lab. But iodine fuming has a few shortcomings.

Iodine Fuming

The iodine method of latent print development is generally the first step in the attempts to develop latent prints that are thought to be reasonably fresh. The advantage of this method is that it is non-destructive to subsequent testing using other chemicals.

Iodine fuming requires no sophisticated apparatus in order to deliver its fumes onto a porous surface. Iodine fumes react to the sebaceous sweat secretions (oil) that contaminate the fingertips. Touch your nose, cheek, ears, arms and chest and you have these secretions on your fingers.

The iodine fumes develop latent prints that are orange to brown in color. This process works best on prints that are known to be fresh; like a ransom note, a holdup note handed to a bank teller or even a suicide note.

But as mentioned, iodine fuming has its shortcomings-mainly that the prints that do appear are fugitive-they begin to fade shortly after development; and iodine fuming only works on prints that are thought to be reasonably fresh. You will hear more on this in a moment.

SPECIAL NOTE: Iodine fumes are toxic. Take all possible precautions.

The fuming procedure is relatively simple:

1. Iodine crystals are placed in a confined area along with a document or other porous items. At the crime scene this can be a zip-top plastic bag. In the crime lab it can be a converted fish tank, or a fuming chamber specifically built for this purpose.

2. A low level heat source is used to begin the sublimation process. This can be simply your hand wrapped around the zip-top plastic bag containing iodine crystals or an inexpensive coffee warmer.

3. The iodine fumes are usually visible-a kind of purple haze. Once the fumes are seen, the heat source may be removed. Prints will be visible in seconds.

4. The next step is to remove the evidence being processed, and then photograph any visible latent prints. Be certain to include a scale that is visible in each shot. If the prints are reasonably fresh, they should remain visible for 15-20 minutes or longer.

5. Once photographs are completed, you may apply an iodine enhancer/fixative to the developed prints, which provides a permanent image.

Cyanoacrylate Fuming:

Back in the late 1970s members of the US Army Crime Laboratory in Japan were shown an interesting method for developing latent fingerprints on non-porous surfaces such as metal, painted wood, plastic and glass. Instead of using powders, members of the Japanese National Police Force used a material called cyanoacrylate to develop latent prints on most nonporous surfaces.

At that period of time this material was popularly known as Super Glue. The name Super Glue was once trademarked, but through common usage, the term superglue has become generic and several cyanoacrylate manufacturers use it to describe their product.

If you have ever used it, you know that cyanoacrylate has a very strong, noxious odor. You may have seen commercials long ago showing how a drop of this glue could bond an automobile to the hook on a crane, which lifted it off the ground. In any case, the glue does form a tight bond-provided there is a very thin film of moisture (water) on both surfaces to be bonded. And of course most surfaces on this planet have moisture on them as a result of humidity.

So how can this develop latent prints? It is really very simple. A process known as chemical “fuming” is used. The crime lab technicians will carefully place several items of evidence into an enclosure. Early fuming tanks were nothing more than fish tanks with a cover of some sort.

Several drops of glue are measured out into a fuming tray (usually an aluminum cup-like object). This is placed in the chamber and the chamber is sealed up. Development without any sort of acceleration takes several hours, but a small coffee warmer can be used under the glue to accelerate the process.

It is also possible to accelerate the fuming process by adding a few drops of the glue onto a cotton pad. To protect the surface of the floor in the fuming chamber, place the cotton pad on a piece of aluminum foil or one of the cups mentioned above. This is one very good reason for NOT wearing cotton gloves. Considerable heat is generated during the fuming process and may cause burns to the hands.

The glue fumes will circulate inside the chamber and will come in contact with the various items of evidence. The fumes will polymerize (turn into a solid) on any moisture on the objects-like fingerprint residue.

The resulting developed latent prints will be hard as a rock, and will conform to the ridge structure that the suspect left behind. The developed prints are white in color so visual and photographic contrast may be added on light colored surfaces using fingerprint powders or dye stains.

Many crime labs suggest that CSIs fume evidence with cyanoacrylate to prevent damage or loss of the latents during transport to the lab.

If you would like to learn more about crime scene investigative techniques, an abundance of information is available from this website.

If you are looking for an article that’s going to list most commonly asked police interview questions, then you are at the right place. Whether you want to be a police officer in a small town, or a big city there’s no avoiding the police oral board interview. You see the oral board interview was designed to measure the overall judgment and reasoning capabilities of a potential prospect. Some candidates do well on the oral exam, but majority fail miserably.

Here’s a great tip for you – being honest, and genuine will always win over the panel. There’s a really neat trick to getting the panel on your side, and it’s called story telling. I’m not talking about making up fairy tail lies, but rather projecting your response to a question in a story type format. Let me explain.

For instance, instead of telling the panel that you want to become a police officer because you want to help people, tell them how you were inspired by a police officer in grade school. Which fueled a desired to become a cop. Always answer a question in a story format when the opportunity present itself. People tend to connect more with a story instead of a robotic, rehearsed response. Remember how excited you were when your parents would read you a bedtime story, and how attentive you were. Well it doesn’t stop just because your are an adult, folks still get excited when a story is told to them even if they’ve heard it before.

Here’s just two of the most asked police interview question you should prepare to answer:

• Describe an event in your life where you displayed your leadership skills?
• Tell us what you know about our agency starting with the Chief’s first and last name?
• Why do you want to be a police officer?

The bicep (biceps brachii) is an important muscle for Police Officers and it is rather easy to train. It is important to understand that the bicep is a 2 headed muscle consisting of a long head and a short head. This is important because there are different exercises that can be done to work each individual head. The bicep is a small muscle that does not need an excessive amount of training to build them. Train the biceps once per week and with a healthy diet your biceps will get stronger in no time.

You should be able to work your biceps in 30 minutes which leaves plenty of time for some cardio training or you may want to work your triceps immediately following your biceps routine. I like to work my biceps and triceps during the same workout each week. I hit biceps first for 30 minutes and then I hit my triceps for 30 minutes and then there is no need to work arms until the following week.

Many people like to work each body part 2 times per week but I feel that is not necessary for the average person. When you exercise with weights you are tearing down your muscles which requires a lot of rest for them to recover and grow.

Your muscles do not grow in the gym, they grow and become stronger when they are being rested outside of the gym. Because our biceps are being torn down they need protein to grow and become stronger. You will need to eat a fairly healthy diet high in protein and moderate carbohydrates to fuel your muscles so that they will grow and become stronger.

For the average person we should be ingesting around 1 gram of protein per body pound each day. This mean that if you weigh 160 pounds you should try and eat 160 grams of protein per day. Eating 1 gram of protein per body pound each day is not difficult once you see what foods are high in protein. You can easily accomplish this by drinking a couple protein shakes each day along with a couple meals.

You will want to rest in between each set for roughly 60 seconds. In some of the more advanced routines you will take very l.little rest in between sets and at times you will perform multiple sets with no rest at all. With the beginner routine below I would grab a pair of 20 pound dumbells and curl them for 2 sets of 15 reps. This will warm up your biceps and elbows for workout.

As with any fitness activity the key to avoiding injury is to warm up properly. Now that the warm up set is done I would move onto the work sets. I would load a straight curl bar with a weight that I think I could get 8 reps with. Don’t worry about being precise on your estimate of what weight you should start out with. If you start your 1st set with a weight that is too easy then adjust the weight accordingly on the 2nd set.

I would then make sure I was wearing a weight belt and then I would lift the straight bar and curl it 8-12 times before putting the bar down. If you find that you are able to do 12 reps with that weight then you will need to increase the weight on the next set.

If you find that you cannot do 8 reps with that weight then you need to reduce the weight for the next set. Routines with 3-6 reps per set are more for power lifters and we are trying to achieve strength gains along with gains in muscle mass which is why we shoot for 8-12 reps. Ideally this is how your first set of the beginner bicep workout should go.

Lets say you load 50 pounds on the straight bar and you are able to get 12 reps on the 1st set. You rest for 1 minute and then you put 60 pounds on the straight bar and you are able to get 10 reps. You then rest 1 minute and put 70 pounds on the bar and you are able to get 8 reps. That would be a good set because you increased the weight with each set and you stayed within the 8-12 reps with each set.

A not so good set would be where you load 50 pounds on the straight bar for your 1st set and you are only able to get 6 reps. you then put 60 pounds on the bar for your 2nd set and you can only get 5 reps.

You then reduce the weight to 40 pounds and you get 10 reps on your 3rd and final set. If on my 1st set I was unable to get 8 reps I would start over and lower the weight 20 pounds. After a few workouts you will be able to estimate your starting weight for each exercise with ease.

So far we have done the warm up set and 1 work set which was the standing barbell curl. The standing barbell curl is the best exercise for building strength and mass in the biceps which is why we do it as our 1st work set.

Because it is an important exercise we want to do it as the 1st set when we are fresh and rested. Now for our 2nd work set we will do the preacher curls with dumbells. The preacher bench can be a seated or standing piece of equipment depending on the manufacturer.

I prefer the seated preacher bench because the standing preacher bench feels awkward to me. In this exercise we are using dumbells instead of the barbell. You will want to grab a pair of dumbells that you think you can curl on the preacher bench for 8-12 reps.

With the preacher bench you want to make sure your elbows are not hanging off the end of the pad. The preacher curl is great for shaping the bicep and this should movement should never be left out of a bicep workout. Do a total of 3 sets on the preacher bench using the same principles that we used with the standing barbell curls.

The 3rd and final work set in the beginner bicep routine is the hammer curl. The hammer curl is a great exercise that will hit the lower part of your bicep. The hammer curl is done with dumbells using the same weight principles as described above.

Do 3 sets of hammer curls and you are finished with your biceps for this week. Now would be a good time to do some cardio or work your triceps to complete your arm workout for the week. Your goal each week will be to increase the weight for each of these exercises. Don’t get discouraged, you will get stronger and be able to increase the weight in no time.

After 4 weeks of this routine you will be ready to change to the beginner bicep routine # 2. Our muscles are smart and they learn to adapt to the routines that we put them through so we have to change up our workouts from time to time.

Incorporating new bicep exercises means that we will be hitting our biceps from different positions and angles which will cause further muscle growth and development. I advocate tweaking your bicep workout every 4 weeks for beginners. Tweaking your bicep workout can be as simple as removing 1 exercise from your routine and adding something new.

For the beginner workout I would stop doing the hammer curl at week 4 and start doing the dumbells concentration curl. I would then switch the dumbells preacher curl with the barbell preacher curl and then switch the standing barbell curl with the standing cable machine curl.

After a few months of the beginner routines you may be ready for the more advanced bicep workouts which will be listed below. You may be tempted to work your biceps more than once per week as you start to see some gains but don’t do it. You can easily over train the biceps which will severely reduce your strength and mass gains and lead to an injury.

Beginner Bicep Routine

Warm up with 2 sets of standing dumbbell curls for 15 reps each set

Standing barbell curl – 3 sets for 8-12 reps each set

Preacher bench dumbbell curls – 3 sets 8-12 reps each set

Hammer dumbbell curls – 3 sets 8-12 reps each set

Police gear is fundamental to daily police life. Without this equipment, our streets would be a more dangerous place. The gear that can be found in many outlets can be of a high quality and includes belt equipment such as pouches, holders and belts as well as police apparel including trousers, shirts, base layers, outer layers and boots. There are many other necessary pieces of kit such as ASP batons, police torches and handcuffs and keys.

When writing about police equipment it is well worth discussing belt equipment! This equipment includes torch holders, duty belts, notebook pouches and pen holders. Some famous brands include Price Western Leather (PWL) and ASP who manufacture amongst other things, baton holders (scabbards). Other belt equipment includes key holders, cuff pouches and holders, carabiners, radio pouches and cell phone pouches. This is just a small sample of the belt gear that officers use daily.

Other gear that you will find in police shops include handcuff keys and cuffs as well as ASP baton accessories. As for batons, they can only be supplied in the UK to police or government agencies as they are prohibited weapons ASP batons range from 16 inches to 26 inches in length and ASP are renowned for producing batons that are almost indestructible. They are used by the world’s elite police teams and are a first choice many advanced police agencies. A very common bit of police kit are police torches. There is a range of torches on the market to suit many budgets. Torches are crucial for police personnel, not just for lighting dim places, also for momentarily disorientating criminals by temporarily affecting their night adapted vision. ASP provide a high quality, new generation of torch which deliver an amazingly bright beam and a strong build in a compact design. Other torches worthy of mention are Surefire torches which are extremely popular and have a greater output than a D Cell. They offer tailcap controls, which is perfect for firearms use. Other manufacturers include Gerber, Inova and of course, Maglite.

There is also police gear such as baton and cuff holders, including ASP sidebreak baton scabbards, trifold restraints, twin duty cases, Blackhawk collapsible baton pouches, Blackhawk crossdraw baton pouches, PWL (Price Western Leather) expandable baton holders (3 position swivel), PWL side handle baton sleeves, PWL speedcuff loops (3 position swivel) and PWL Speedcuff pouches ( 3 position swivel and cup). Other police gear that can be found includes utility belts and other leather products, torch loops and sleeves, notebook covers, fixed penalty folders, warrant card wallets, warrant card wallets with badge flaps and Viper slash resistant gloves.

This is just a small insight into the world of police gear.

Police lights fall in the category of public safety equipment, and are one of the most unique types of lights that are utilized by the government authorities. The lights’ being unique and distinctive is of high significance, since there are many responsibilities placed on the police. In order to maintain the security of the city and the citizens, they have to present themselves in as distinctive way as possible. To respond to the scene, they use a different variety of lights and sirens.

LED Light

The multicolored lights on the police vehicles today are usually LED that gives their cars a significantly different look. Additionally, the lights and the siren speakers on their car are of high frequency that makes them visible and audible from quite a long distance. It is the high visibility of their cars that protects them emergency situations.

The reason – why LED lights are deployed to make light heads, dash lights, bars, mini bars, and lights for interiors, front and rear – is the cost-effectiveness, durability, and various other plus points and features of LED.

Advantages of LED lights –

Small & efficient – LED bulbs are small, and even after being small, they glow quite efficiently. Owing to technological and design-allied advancements, these bulbs are used in various devices of today, including computers and laptops’ keyboard, mobile phones, etc.

Cost Effective – The tiny bulbs are actually a two-lead, P-N junction diode semiconductor, which emanates the shine when activated with a suitable amount of voltage. Not many resources are deployed in the manufacturing and lighting up of these bulbs; thereby these are pretty economical, as compared to ones of ordinary contrivances.

No heating, no melting – LED bars and dash lights do not heat up due to excess use, while the lights of earlier generations would get very hot and would sometimes melt the lens plastic. No matter which color of LED is being used in the bar, the heat is no longer a major issue.

Broad design options – As these bulbs do not consume much energy, the manufacturers are paying attention on the design and compatibility of LED products.

Siren & Speaker

A typical police car is incomplete without a siren and speaker. Sirens are often used as a sign of warning, at different places, for different occasions. Apart from police car, sirens are also observable on ambulance and riot control, army, firefighting and politicians’ vehicles. Different vehicles use different tones and intensities of alarm. Speaker is used to spread the noise of the alarm, and to broadcast some message from the police car.

In 2012, Colorado voters overwhelming approved a change to the state’s constitution that allowed the sale and personal consumption of marijuana for recreational use. Sales began in 2014. Since then, the state has issued more than 2,900 marijuana business licenses, 481 of which went to retail dispensaries. As a result, as one media outlet pointed out, Colorado has more pot dispensaries than Starbucks, McDonald’s, and 7-Eleven locations combined.

But even though it’s legal to consume, it remains illegal to drive while under the influence of marijuana. Tragically, far too many drivers appear to be ignoring that and are putting lives in danger by smoking and driving. If you’ve been injured in a car accident because of an impaired driver, a personal injury attorney can help.

Fatal Accidents on the Rise

According to analysis by The Denver Post, the number of drivers involved in fatal car accidents who then tested positive for marijuana has jumped every year since legalization. Higher levels of the drug are also appearing in drivers who tested positive. Last year, in one extreme example, one driver tested at 22 times the legal limit for marijuana.

From 2013-16, Colorado experienced a 40 percent spike in the number of traffic fatalities overall, hitting 880 last year, according to numbers from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The data also reveals that alcohol-related fatalities have been on the rise, climbing 17 percent. The number of drivers who tested positive for marijuana, however, jumped nearly 150 percent, and now make up 10 percent of all fatal car accidents.

While officials are quick to point out that this dramatic increase in marijuana-related traffic deaths can’t be tied conclusively to legalization, the numbers are disturbing.

“Unlike alcohol, THC [the active ingredient in marijuana] can remain detectable in the blood stream for days or weeks, when any impairment wears off in a matter of hours,” Taylor West, former deputy director of the National Cannabis Industry Association, told The Denver Post. “So all those numbers really tell us is that, since legal adult-use sales began, a larger number of people are consuming cannabis and then, at some point… driving a car.”

Testing is a Problem

That’s the problem facing state and local governments. Cannabis use is skyrocketing, but law enforcement officials are still struggling to find a way to definitively test drivers. There’s no marijuana breathalyzer or blood test that police can use to test drivers. There are tests that check for delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, but there isn’t a universally accepted standard that indicates who is actually impaired, despite the frantic efforts of scientists to establish one.

Colorado uses a THC blood test that police can use to reveal what’s referred to as “presumed” impairment. Permissible inference is set at five nanograms of THC per milliliter. Alcohol breaks down quickly in the body, making it easy to test for. THC, on the other hand, can linger much longer in the body. In fact, heavy users who then abstain from marijuana can still test positive a month or more later.

At least two private companies are researching breath detection devices, but scientists estimate they’re months or years away from hitting the market. As a result, Colorado has begun training its officers in what to look for during traffic stops when deciding whether a driver is impaired.