DECISION TO CUT FUNDS FOR DRUG PROGRAM A REASONABLE ONE

It's hard not to have good feelings about the long-running DARE
project, which is in jeopardy because of lack of funding support.

DARE, which stands for Drug Abuse Resistance Education, sends police
officers into schools to talk to young students about the dangers of
drugs.

It creates a lot of good feelings. Students interact positively with
police officers. The goal is to get drug education started early.

But it's an expense that police departments are increasingly unwilling
to bear. Sheriff Bob Bezotte's latest budget proposal will not include
funding for the DARE officer who now serves the Hartland, Fowlerville
and Pinckney school districts.

Bezotte feels that manpower can be better used to beef up night
patrols.

It's a tough decision, but a reasonable one. Bezotte's job is to
allocate resources in a way that best meets his departmental
priorities and responsibilities to the community.

There is little doubt that deputies create good feelings when they
meet with young students. But there is scant evidence that the DARE
program has any effect on whether or not those students use and abuse
drugs at a later age. And that is the stated purpose of the program.

In fact, a 2004 report in the American Journal of Public Health
concluded that DARE was ineffective in preventing drug and alcohol
use.

It may sound high-minded, as some say, to fund the program on the idea
that it's worth it if it has an impact on even one person. But that's
not the way to view such programs, since the money spent on DARE
represents opportunities lost in other law enforcement areas.

Although some educators are surely sincere when they bemoan the loss
of DARE, it doesn't appear as though they are convinced of its value
either. Otherwise, you might see the funding in their budgets.

DARE was worth a try and it got a long trial. But it shouldn't be
continued just because it sounds like a good idea.