DARE PROGRAM DEFENDED, QUESTIONED

Law enforcement officials are split over whether the area's decade-old Drug
Awareness Resistance Education program still is an effective way to teach
children the dangers of drugs.

"Is DARE the perfect solution to the nation's drug problem? Of course not,"
Chattanooga Police Chief Jimmie Dotson said. "But I believe DARE is still
effective and is still worth the investment."

However, Hamilton County Sheriff John Cupp said the fact that DARE America,
the corporate arm of the program based in Los Angeles, is revising the
program for next year is an indication that something is wrong.

"You don't write a new program if the old one is effective," Sheriff Cupp said.

The DARE program began in Los Angeles in 1983. It was introduced in
Hamilton County in 1990, officials said. The program is a 17-week
curriculum for fifth-graders that teaches them about the physical and
psychological effects of drugs and alcohol.

DARE has received mixed reviews around the country, officials said. Some
studies show no difference in drug use rates between students who have gone
through the program and those who have not.

Orchard Knob Elementary School principal LaMonte Vaughn said he believes
the DARE program has been effective.

"Many children have negative things happening in their lives and this is
one way of making them aware of positive ways to handle (problems)," Mr.
Vaughn said.

Fifth-graders at Orchard Knob said Friday they are looking forward to the
program because they have heard about it from family members and friends
who are DARE graduates.

"My cousin said it will help you stay out of jail," Breanna Parris said.

Jaquita Johnson said the program teaches students how to keep a safe
environment.

Chief Dotson said he is aware of studies that criticize the program, but
feels it wouldn't be a good idea to pull the four officers and the
$50,000-a-year budget his department provides for it.

"I believe it would be unwise to eliminate this program before we have the
framework in place to create a replacement program, which we can be assured
will be more effective and more efficient than DARE," Chief Dotson said.

Todd Womack, a spokesman for Chattanooga Mayor Bob Corker, said the mayor
would defer to the judgment of law enforcement officials on the
effectiveness of DARE.

"The mayor will be evaluating this and other programs as we continue on,"
he said.

Sgt. Sam Madison, who supervises Chattanooga Police Department DARE
officers, said the program's curriculum is being revised for the first time
since 1983 not because it's ineffective, but to make it more relevant to
children in the 21st century.

"It's the largest law enforcement education program in the world," Sgt.
Madison said. "It's been around since 1983. How can it exist that long if
it's not effective?"

The curriculum is being changed to encourage school children to interact
with the officer/instructor instead of listening to presentations, he said.

Sheriff Cupp, who started a DARE pilot program in Hamilton County in 1989,
has one deputy teaching the program. He said DARE costs his department
$100,000 a year.

"The question is, do you continue to teach the program or wait on a new
curriculum?" he said.

The sheriff said there's a misconception about the mission of DARE.

"It's not a drug education program. It's a program that teaches refusal
skills," he said. "That's good for shoplifting, theft, whatever. Those
principles are good."