Graduates of University of Maryland's DUI Institute pose for a photo

COLLEGE PARK, MD (June 9, 2023) – Twenty-nine officers from 15 law enforcement agencies in Maryland graduated today from the University of Maryland’s DUI Institute, a rigorous 40-hour program that develops leaders in the enforcement of alcohol-impaired driving laws.

The award-winning program, created in 2003, was developed by the Maryland Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Administration’s Highway Safety Office and the University of Maryland Department of Behavioral and Community Health, along with police officers from across the state and national experts in enforcement of laws related to driving under the influence. Since its inception, more than 475 officers have graduated from the program.

The following agencies had graduates of this year’s DUI Institute, which was held June 4-9:

  • Anne Arundel County Police Department
  • Baltimore County Police Department
  • Carroll County Sheriff’s Office
  • Frostburg City Police Department
  • Gaithersburg Police Department
  • Garrett County Sheriff’s Office
  • Greenbelt Police Department
  • Harford County Sheriff’s Office
  • Maryland State Police
  • Maryland Transportation Authority Police
  • Montgomery County Police Department
  • Prince George’s County Police Department
  • Town of North East Police Department
  • University of Maryland – College Park Police Department
  • Washington County Sheriff’s Office

“We are providing additional training and valuable resources, like the DUI Institute, to law enforcement officers statewide with the goal of removing those individuals from our roadways who irresponsibly choose to drive impaired and put others at risk,” said Motor Vehicle Administrator Chrissy Nizer, who also serves as Governor Wes Moore’s Highway Safety Representative. “We commend the institute’s graduates on their dedication to highway safety, and we look forward to working with them to help reduce these preventable roadway deaths.”

DUI Institute participants learned the latest information on the effectiveness of impaired driving countermeasures including ignition interlocks, DUI courts and sobriety checkpoints, police traffic management, the physiology of alcohol and cannabis and its abuse/addiction, and courtroom testimony. Officers also received advanced training in conducting Standardized Field Sobriety Testing and practiced these techniques with volunteers.

The DUI Institute is sponsored by the Motor Vehicle Administration’s Highway Safety Office and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Learn more about the Highway Safety Office at ZeroDeathsMD.gov or on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram at @ZeroDeathsMD.