LIVING PRODUCTIVE, DRUG- AND VIOLENCE-FREE LIVES

This year millions of school children around the world will benefit
from D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education), the program that
gives kids the skills they need to avoid involvement in drugs, gangs,
and violence. D.A.R.E was founded in 1983 in Los Angeles and has
proven so successful that it is now being implemented in 75 percent
of our nation's school districts and in more than 43 countries around
the world. D.A.R.E. is a police officer-led series of classroom
lessons that teaches children from kindergarten through Grade 12 how
to resist peer pressure and live productive drug and violence-free lives.

The D.A.R.E. curriculum is designed to be taught by police officers
whose training and experience gave them the background needed to
answer the sophisticated questions often posed by young students
about drugs and crime. Prior to entering the D.A.R.E. program,
officers undergo 80 hours of special training in areas such as child
development, classroom management, teaching techniques, and
communication skills. 40 hours of additional training are provided to
D.A.R.E. instructors to prepare them to teach the high school curriculum.

D.A.R.E. goes beyond traditional prevention programs. It gives
children the skills needed to recognize and resist the subtle and
overt pressures that cause them to experiment with drugs or become
involved in gangs or violent activities.

- - D.A.R.E. is an internationally recognized model of community
policing. D.A.R.E. benefits local communities:

- - D.A.R.E. "humanizes" the police; young people can begin to relate
to officers as people

- - D.A.R.E. permits students to see officers in a helping role, not
just an enforcement role

- - D.A.R.E. opens lines of communication between law enforcement and youth

- - D.A.R.E. officers can serve as conduits to provide information
beyond drug related topics

- -D.A.R.E. opens dialogue between the school, police, and parents to
deal with other issues.