Sergeant Thomas E. Page, LAPD
(ret.) is the former Officer-in-Charge of the Los Angeles Police Department's Drug Recognition Expert (DRE) Unit. Thomas Page is a 22-year veteran of law enforcement, having served in both the Los Angeles Police Department
and Detroit Police Departments. Before his a law enforcement career, Thomas Page served the Wayne County, Michigan Health
Department for five years as a public health worker and supervisor.
During his career with the Los
Angeles Police Department, Sergeant Thomas Page was the coordinator for the 1985 Los Angeles Field Validation Test (173 case
study) of the DRE Procedure. This study validated the effectiveness and reliability of a standardized and systematic approach
to drug influence recognition. These procedures have been adopted nationwide by professionals in government, law enforcement,
military, private industry and health care.
Thomas Page has taught drug influence
recognition and the behavioral indicators of drug use to a wide range of audiences. These audiences include the American Bar
Association, Northwestern University Traffic Institute, the California Department of Mental Health, the Swedish National Police
Federation in Stockholm, the Russian Procuracy Training Academy in Moscow, the Victoria Police in Melbourne, Australia, the
Department of the Army, nurses, physicians, psychiatrists, toxicologists, and private industry. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Industrial Psychology, and his Master of Arts degree in Urban
Affairs from the University of Detroit.
Sergeant Thomas Page is a past
first General Chairperson of the DRE Section of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, and is a past member of
IACP's DRE Technical Advisory Panel. Sergeant Thomas Page has also been an advisory member of the Canadian Society of Forensic
Science's Drugs and Driving Committee. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Industrial Psychology, and his Master of
Arts degree in Urban Affairs from the University of Detroit.
Thomas Page has authored numerous
articles on drug user detection techniques. His credits include Police Chief Magazine, The Siren, The DRE, the Victoria Australia
Parliamentary Road Safety Committee Report, and the 1988 International Congress on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, Oslo, Norway. He is the co-author of Drug Information Handbook for the Criminal Justice Professional and the co-editor of Medical-Legal Aspects of Abused Substances: Old And New - Licit And Illicit.
According to Drug Information Handbook for the Criminal Justice Professional, it
is a “Compilation of over 570 drugs, agents, and substances for the criminal justice professional.” The book is divided into eight sections: introduction; listing of drugs; special topics; street names;
medical terms; Canadian brand names; appendix; and, therapeutic category index.
According to Medical-Legal Aspects of Abused Substances: Old And New - Licit And Illicit,
“If you regularly handle cases involving substance abuse or need information on newly compounded substances, as well
as re-discovered drugs of abuse such as Ecstasy, Meth, PCP, Gamma Hydroxy Butyrate, otherwise know as the "Date Rape Drug",
and Anabolic-Androgenic Steroids popular with today’s athletes, this is your reference of choice. It has extensive chapters
devoted to the above substances as well as others. The authors discuss the role of law enforcement officers in abused substance
cases, double standards in enforcing substance abuse laws, driving under the influence of drugs as opposed to alcohol, and
legal and prosecution perspectives regarding this type of case. This book contains much valuable information and is a must
for anyone who regularly deals with prosecuting or defending substance abuse cases.
The authors also present case
studies of Turkey and Australia’s laws pertaining to abused substances and driving, and how they were developed. This
information is particularly valuable to those involved in the creation of substance abuse legislation, here in the US and
around the world.”