ELIMINATING DARE IS A SERIOUS MISTAKE

I was saddened to read that several Arizona
cities were doing away with the DARE program.

I am a retired police officer from the Chicago area, and the last
several years of my career was that of a DARE officer. It, by far, was
the best part of my career.

Although the DARE program focuses on not doing drugs, it also had a
large curriculum dealing with self-esteem and making good choices. I
do know that I had a positive police impact on hundreds of children. I
had many occasions where a former DARE student would assist the police
in solving criminal activity by contacting me and giving me
information.

The loss of DARE is a huge mistake. Positive contact with the police
is rare, and the kids will miss it.

Terry Bauer, Scottsdale