POLICE CHIEF'S DARE IDEA WORTH PURSUING

Decatur Police Chief Mark Barthelemy wants to take the DARE program
currently being conducted in the Decatur schools and make it "bigger and
better."

There are a lot of details to be worked out, but Barthelemy should be
congratulated for thinking ahead. The idea appears to have enough merit for
discussion to continue.

DARE is a multi-week class taught by Decatur police officers to students in
the fifth and sixth grade. The name of the program, Drug Abuse Resistance
Education, shows its emphasis on giving young people tools to say no to
alcohol and drugs.

The program also gives young people a non-threatening relationship with a
law enforcement officer, which may be one of its most significant
achievements.

Nationally, the DARE program has been criticized for a lack of effectiveness
in stopping drug and alcohol use among teens. But as Barthelemy says, "for
every six studies that say DARE is effective, there are six that say it is
not. The jury is still out."

Barthelemy's plan is to have a curriculum written locally by the current
DARE officers and school personnel that emphasizes drug and alcohol use
prevention, but also targets the issues of truancy and dropping out.
Barthelemy said the new curriculum would focus on several things - getting
students to remain in school, teaching respect for other people and
authority, building self-esteem and teaching young people how to listen and
to be responsible for what they do and say.

The new curriculum would include people recruited from the community to talk
about the importance of staying in school and how they have used their
education in their jobs.

Barthelemy has met with Decatur school superintendent Elmer McPherson to
discuss the proposal. The school district helps fund the DARE program, so
any changes would have to be made in partnership.

In an unrelated area, Barthelemy has had success moving programs more
directly under the police department's control. A few years ago, the city
dropped out of Task Force X, a joint law enforcement effort to arrest drug
offenders. Instead, the city police started using their own grassroots
approach, focusing on stopping smaller drug dealers and the bigger
operators.

By all accounts, moving away from Task Force X has been a success. Arrests
have increased, and the police are able to be much more responsive to
community information.

It's hard to draw a direct correlation from Task Force X to DARE, but
Barthelemy's past success means folks should listen closely to his latest
proposal.

Changing DARE would be a bold move, but it could be the type of move that
pays off for the city's young people.