DARE programs are good for young, communities

Young people in America today need the internal resources to resist
drugs. And they will need that strength of character in the future too.
The temptations to abuse drugs and alcohol are perennials. No society,
from Biblical times to the present, has ever been free of such problems.
But it is the responsibility of adults to prepare young people as well as
possible for such challenges. In recent years, much of America has added a
new approach in trying to meet that duty. Drug Abuse Resistance Education
programs have grown up all over the country. In Snohomish county, DARE
classes began just 10 years ago. According to various studies, the programs
have no demonstrated effect on drug and alcohol abuse among young people.
So, as Americans sometimes do when their demands for instant gratification
go unmet, there is a rush in some places to abandon DARE. Let's get a grip.
It's reasonable that DARE is being dropped by some police agencies with
situations like that of the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office, where
critical understaffing causes concerns about officer safety. But the better
news often overlooked is that most police agencies in Snohomish
County and elsewhere have been able to stick with the programs for schools
within their city limits. In cities such as Everett, Lynwood, Edmonds and
Marysville, DARE continues. And for good reason.
As a society, we have made progress against drug abuse since the
mid1980's, when DARE was first being conceived. But the progress is far
from uniform. In that situation, it makes little sense to start letting
down our guard. Many who have been involved with DARE have doubts about the
adequacy of the studies questioning whether results can be shown. They say
that the information may not adequately control the factors at work. As
with many areas of research, the real answers may not be apparent until
several rounds of study have narrowed down the issues. In a larger sense,
however, the payoff for DARE isn't necessarily in obviously quantifiable
results of reduced drug abuse. Nor was DARE whether limited to the core
curriculum in the fifth grade or followed up with middle school programs
ever really intended to stand alone as the answer to drug abuse. As
Lynnwood police Sgt. Brian Burkhalter put it on these pages late last year,
DARE was created as a partnership between schools, parents, the police and
the community to work toward solutions together. Just as none should ever
expect teachers to be solely responsible for the education of our children,
police officers and DARE should never be held responsible for solving our
drug problems."
Indeed, says Everett Sgt. Dan O'Neill, discussions at home and example
by parents are almost certainly the biggest influence on young people.
Families, in fact, need to keep that in mind. Rather than relying on DARE
officers or teachers to handle the discussions, parents need to make sure
they talk about the issues.
However that is handled, DARE's larger value in building good relations
between police and young people should not be underestimated. For every
parent's car sporting one of the DARE bumper stickers, there are dozens of
boys and girls who have learned a whole new appreciation of police
officers. Whether others do a good job of reinforcing the antidrug message
or not, the young people remember the officers who come into their
classrooms each week for a semester. Laurie Baker of the Everett School
District says that two officers currently helping out at high schools had
been DARE officers before. The students clearly remember the officers and
appreciate them, he says. A bond of trust has been created.
That's a sound investment in the future. And DARE remains a good
investment in young people. It doesn't take statistics for communities to
know that having adults talk to kids about responsible behavior is a part of
rearing healthy young people. DARE doesn't create miracles. But it is a
common sense approach that merits continuation wherever the dollars and cents can be found.