W. VAN TEACHERS GET DRUG TRAINING

West Vancouver school administrators are hoping to get a leg up in the
fight against youth drug use after completing a two-day course at the
West Vancouver Police Department.

The seminar, called Drug Identification Training for Education
Professionals, was intended to teach school staff to spot the signs of
drug and alcohol use among students. The idea is to help educators to
intervene before substance abuse gets out of hand.

Twenty administrators and counsellors from the community's public and
private schools attended the course Oct. 28 and 29.

The force emphasized the information imparted to participants was not
intended to be used for enforcement, but rather as a tool to change
behaviour among students at risk.

"West Vancouver Police . . . believe building more early intervention
resources increases the chance of redirecting youth through effective
counselling and support," said Chief Const. Peter Lepine in a release.

The seminar was part of the force's larger Police Youth Initiative,
which has arisen in the wake of the cancelled DARE program.

The WVPD will soon be launching a West Vancouver Police Youth Web
Page, and a program called E-Policing for Parents as part of the same
endeavour.