InfoSearched
Published -
- February 13, 2020
- 7:00 pm
“Who’s drunk, me or you?”
Can these retired police officer is really tell?
How were the participants in the study selected and what was their objective?
In a groundbreaking study conducted by the US National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), a retired police officer was asked to identify who among a group of individuals was under the influence of alcohol. The results of the study were astounding, and could have significant implications for the way law enforcement agencies, and the legal system at large, approach drunk driving cases.
The study, which was recently published in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, involved 20 participants (10 men, 10 women) who were all social drinkers. Each participant was given an oral dose of alcohol, which was calculated based on their body weight, and their blood alcohol concentration (BAC) was measured hourly.
At four separate time intervals, the participants were lined up in front of the retired police officer, who was tasked with identifying who was drunk and who was not. The officer was not informed of the BAC levels of any of the participants, and was simply asked to use his own judgment to determine who was under the influence.
The results of the study were striking. In the first lineup, the officer correctly identified 75% of the participants who were over the legal limit of 0.08% BAC. In the second lineup, he correctly identified 80%. In the third lineup, he correctly identified 85%, and in the final lineup, he correctly identified 90%.
These results are particularly impressive given that the retired officer had no information about the BAC levels of the participants, and was simply relying on his own intuition to determine who was under the influence. The fact that he was able to identify such a high percentage of intoxicated individuals suggests that there are certain behavioral cues, such as slurred speech, impaired motor coordination, and changes in demeanor, that are consistent across people who are under the influence of alcohol.
The implications of this study for the legal system cannot be overstated. Currently, the primary method for determining whether someone is under the influence of alcohol is through the use of field sobriety tests and breathalyzer tests. However, these methods are not foolproof: field sobriety tests can be impacted by environmental factors such as weather conditions and uneven terrain, while breathalyzer tests can be affected by a number of factors, such as the type of alcohol consumed, the individual’s metabolism, and the calibration of the equipment.
By contrast, the results of this study suggest that retired police officers, who have years of experience dealing with drunk driving cases, may be able to make accurate and reliable judgments about whether someone is under the influence of alcohol simply by observing their behavior. This could have significant benefits for law enforcement agencies, as well as for the legal system more broadly, as it would allow for a more nuanced and individualized approach to assessing impairment.
Of course, it is important to note that this study involved only one retired police officer, and that further research is needed to confirm these findings. Nonetheless, the results of this study are an important step towards a more evidence-based, data-driven approach to identifying and prosecuting drunk driving cases. And, they suggest that law enforcement agencies should be looking to the wisdom and experience of retired officers like the one in this study as a valuable resource in the fight against drunk driving.
