TRUTH OR DARE - DORMER RESPONDS WITH HEALTHSMART

Last week, Suffolk County Police Commissioner Richard Dormer announced that
he is reassigning 16 of the 26 officers assigned to the DARE program. The
16 officers will not be furloughed but will be redeployed to patrol duties.

The 10 remaining officers will work full time in a new HEALTHSmart
curriculum that will be taught to students from kindergarten through
twelfth grade. The new program will not only address drugs but also
tobacco, alcohol, obesity, pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases,
and Internet security.

The DARE program has been widely used across the United States. It was
heralded as a drug prevention program. In 2002, the federal government's
accounting office found no significant differences in illicit drug use
between those who took part in the DARE program and those who did not.

Commissioner Dormer believes that the HEALTHSmart curriculum will have a
multi-faceted benefit, helping children of different ages.

In early 2000, former Police Commissioner John Gallagher wanted to replace
DARE, but the police unions organized a protest and the idea was never
implemented. It appears that Dormer is practicing good government and
seeking a bigger bang for the buck.

And why not?