DFC 2: Drug Facilitated Crime: The Role of Alcohol

Ethanol is the most common drug used to facilitate crime (particularly sexual assault) and poses several challenges to both victims and investigators. Victims commonly consume it voluntarily, it can be administered in social environments without suspicion, it impedes memory, and victims are often hesitant to report crimes that occurred while they were intoxicated.

This course focuses on the role of alcohol in drug facilitated crime (DFC) and provides strategies to improve investigation of these incidents. Topics include investigative challenges unique to ethanol, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of ethanol, symptomatology expectations, Widmark calculations, and black outs versus pass outs.