DAREING POLICE OFFICERS GATHER IN COWICHAN AREA

It's an invasion that will cause crooks to see red - 30 extra cops
just rolled into town.

The police officers, mostly RCMP, arrived from around the province
earlier this week to begin two weeks of DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance
Education) training.

"The program allows law-enforcement officers to go into classrooms
and teach children how to make healthy lifestyle choices," said North
Cowichan/Duncan RCMP Const. Krista Hobday.

"It teaches kids about the bad stuff - like drugs, alcohol and
tobacco - possible influences, and how to avoid them.

"It's one component in childrens' lives that assist them in being
drug free."

DARE targets students at the Grade 5 and 6 level, the crucial time,
say cops, before they go into middle school where they're most likely
to encounter pressure to use dope.

DARE is a world-wide program that has been up and running for about
two decades and is a proactive police effort to keep kids clean.

While there are no hard and fast facts that suggest the program works
for every child, police say DARE doesn't claim to do that.

"I heard a story once about a woman who asked an officer if the
program works," Hobday said.

"The officer said, 'If it kept one kid in a class of 30 from doing
drugs it was worth it.'

"The woman said, 'Those aren't very good odds,'" Hobday
said.

"The officer looked at the woman and asked, 'What if that one kid was
yours?'"

The visiting police officers graduate the program next week and then
head back to the classrooms in their towns and cities to teach what
they learned here.