UK POLICE INSPECTOR VISITS VALLEY TO STUDY DARE WORK

A high-ranking police officer from England traveled to the Valley in late
October searching for ways to improve and expand the United Kingdom's youth
anti-drug program.

Nottinghamshire police Chief Inspector David Gilbert met with several
Valley police agencies, including Phoenix, to hear their experiences with
the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program.

Phoenix was among the first agencies to offer the DARE program in 1986. It
now offers the program in schools around the city including Ahwatukee
Foothills elementaries such as Kyrene de la Esperanza and Kyrene de la Colina.

Although DARE has declined in some areas, interest in Ahwatukee Foothills
remains high.

"They are so pro-DARE in the Ahwatukee area. I think it is because they
truly understand the need for the program and their kids being protected
from getting involved in drugs," said Phoenix police Sgt. J.C. Collins, who
supervises the agency's DARE program.

The United Kingdom's Gilbert is interested in helping to expand the program
there to high schools. The Nottinghamshire Police Department's DARE program
reaches 12,000 elementary students.

Gilbert, 45, whose rank is equivalent to police commander, made his first
visit to the Valley in 1996 for a Winston Churchill fellowship to research
positive youth programs. He chose to return this year because the Valley
provides a "balanced view" with some departments having stopped the DARE
program and others having found ways to continue or start new programs.

"My focus is on educators and police and what decisions they made and why,"
Gilbert said. "This is good for a wide understanding, and I don't have a
rich mix of experience in the UK."

Last year, Phoenix police scaled back the program from 18 to six to
redirect manpower to address homeland security and other police needs.

Most of the former DARE officers became school resource officers on school
campuses, Collins said, adding, "We have created an invaluable relationship
with police and schools."

Collins said DARE officers are divided equally in the districts around the
city so all children get the message. An officer teaches five to six
classes per day reaching 90 classes and 10,000 students each year.

Several years ago, DARE came under scrutiny because studies conducted
across the nation challenged its effectiveness. This year, Phoenix is
teaching a new shorter curriculum based on five years of research that
focuses on an interactive approach with students.