NEW DARE OFFICER BEGINS

Youth Learn Skills Needed to Avoid Drugs, Gangs and Violence

Purcell, Ok -- Youth attending Purcell Schools will be seeing a new
face this year when it comes to DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education).

Purcell Police Officer Scott Stephens will be the new part-time DARE
instructor. He comes into the job after longtime DARE instructor Phil
Hightower retired in the spring.

DARE is an opportunity to give youth the skills needed to avoid
involvement in drugs, gangs and violence.

A police officer or deputy sheriff leads the series of classroom
lessons that teach children and youth from kindergarten through 12th
grade. These lessons teach how to resist peer pressure and live
productive drug- and violence-free lives.

Stephens will be teaching fifth grade once a week this semester and
seventh grade one day during the week next semester, he said. The
other four days of the week Stephens will be on patrol.

Before taking the job, Stephens had to have 80 hours of special
training in order to get the background needed to answer questions
posed by students.

The 80 hours training provides him with the capabilities of teaching
techniques, classroom management and communication skills.

An additional 40 hours is needed to be able to teach high school curriculum.

DARE is a way to "humanize" police officers with young people. It
allows youth to be able to relate to officers as people.

The program also lets youth see police officers in a helping role,
not just from the enforcement side.

It opens the communication lines between children, youth and police.

Along with illegal drugs, such as marijuana, methamphetamine and
others, DARE instructors have another rising problem. That problem is
with prescription drugs.

Pain relievers, tranquilizers, stimulants and sedatives are
substances most commonly abused by young people in the United States.

Prescription drugs are readily available. They can get them from
classmates, friends, family members and steal from people for whom
the drug was legitimately prescribed.

Stephens has been a police officer in Purcell for 10 years. Prior to
his service at Purcell, he was with the Cleveland County Sheriff's
Office for two years and with Southwestern Bell for 18 years.

The new DARE officer has a Bachelor's degree in business from the
University of Oklahoma and received his Master's from Southern Nazarene.

His certification in the law enforcement field is extensive. Along
with the standard Council on Law Enforcement and Education Training,
Stephens has an advanced certification from CLEET. He is also a CLEET
instructor and certified in the Standardized Field Sobriety Testing.

Stephens is looking forward to teaching youth right and wrong through
the DARE program.