Webster City -Hamilton County Sheriff’s deputy Dan Watkins has been named as a certified Drug Recognition Expert (DRE). Hamilton County Sheriff Alex Pruismann said this is no small accomplishment for Watkins. There are only about 8,500 certified DRE’s across the entire country with roughly 135 in Iowa as of the end of 2024. Becoming a DRE requires specialized training, extensive evaluation and a commitment to recognizing impairment that is not always easy to identify. The training for Watkins is specialized to help recognize these situations and respond appropriately. The training takes place over two sessions. This includes two weeks in Des Moines doing “book” learning and 1 week in Florida during non-stop hands on training, in real situations with real offenders. This training is completely monetarily by federal funds that did not cost the taxpayers of Hamilton County a dime.