DAREING MISSION: KEEPING KIDS OFF DRUGS

Officer Who Volunteers At Tracy School Wins Program's National Award

TRACY -- Officer Steve Abercrombie's obsession has earned him a nickname
around his police station: the DARE man.

But the dedication to the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program has
earned him a different accolade. The veteran Hayward patrol officer has
been named National DARE Officer of the Year.

Abercrombie, an 18-year veteran, is a volunteer DARE officer at Wanda
Hirsch Elemen-tary School in Tracy. He also works with sixth-graders at
four Hayward elementary schools: Southgate, Eden Gardens, John Muir and St.
Joachim's. He has worked in the DARE program for 11 years.

The 10-week DARE program teaches young people about the dangers of drugs
and alcohol. Abercrombie said it is critical to reach children as they
prepare to move on to middle school, where they will experience new and
forceful kinds of peer pressure.

Abercrombie was nominated for the national award by a supervisor, Lt. Tom
Perry, the California DARE Officers' Asso-ciation and the fifth-grade class
at Hirsch Elementary School.

When Tracy trustees eliminated that district's DARE program because of
budget woes, Abercrombie came over to help. In May, he was named Tracy
Unified Volunteer of the Year.

Thirty Tracy students prepared a book of handwritten letters thanking and
praising Abercrombie, affectionately dubbed "Mr. Abs."

In one poignant missive, a girl wrote that Abercrombie had become like a
father to her after her own dad died in a car crash.

Looking at the book of bound letters brought a glow to Abercrombie's face.
The last page was a pledge -- a promise to lead a drug- and violence-free
life, strive for health and happiness, stand up for what is right and reach
for lofty goals.

It was signed by every student.

The DARE program focuses on three core substances -- alcohol, marijuana and
cigarettes -- and teaches young people about the dangers associated with each.

"The most important thing we do is get kids to realize all of the special
talents they have and give them alternatives to drug use," Abercrombie said.

A principle of the program is to help young people take responsibility for
their decisions.

"We don't go in there and tell them, 'Don't do this,'" he said. "We let
them come up with their own solutions."

He interacts with about 300 students in the DARE program throughout the
year. He spends much of his free time at the schools, meaning he is on a
campus somewhere almost every weekday.

"I don't sleep," he said, explaining how he juggles DARE with his full-time
job.

He also strives to get his young charges involved in community service
programs such as collecting letters of support for Hayward officers
deployed in Iraq or collecting food and clothing for needy families.

The timing of the award is somewhat bittersweet, Abercrombie said, because
the Hayward City Council, working to deal with a projected $12.6 million
budget shortfall, voted last month to kill the DARE program. Abercrombie
hopes the program can return in the coming years.

"My dad told me, 'If you borrow something from somebody, give it back
better than when you got it,'" Abercrombie said in explaining what has
drawn him to devote so much time to DARE. "We're all kind of borrowing time
here on Earth and I just want to make it a little better before I leave."

As a father of three children, Abercrombie believes it is vitally important
to invest in the young.

The true rewards for his work spring from the lives he touches. Earlier
this month, a young man came to the Police Department to show Abercrombie
his recently earned high school diploma and to thank the DARE officer for
helping him accomplish his first major life goal.

Abercrombie received his award July 8 at the DARE National Training Seminar
in Nashville, Tenn.