BREAKING THE BOND

Cuts Force Area Police To Pull Plug On DARE Youth-Education Effort

Three years ago, then-Gov. Jane Swift cut the DARE drug-education program's
line item in the state budget from $4.3 million to zero, leaving local
police departments to decide whether to retain DARE on their own dime.

Because most Massachusetts communities have been struggling with fiscal
crises since that time, the oft-maligned program became an obvious area to
trim from many police budgets.

Paul Anderson, a former Burlington DARE officer who has served as
co-president of the Massachusetts DARE Officers Association for the past
year, has watched his beloved program begin to peter out. The association
doesn't officially track the number of police departments that maintain
DARE, but Anderson offers anecdotal evidence of the decline.

"We used to do a conference with 250 officers," he said. "Last year, we had
100. This year we're blending with the (Massachusetts Juvenile Police
Officers Association), and we hope to have 100."

Billerica police Sgt. Jerry Roche said his department is one of many to
shed its DARE program recently.

"We got rid of it a year ago," Roche said. "Funding, manpower, all kinds of
issues played into it."

Billerica had two full-time and two part-time DARE officers but retained
only Patrolman John Mullen, whose title changed from DARE officer to
school-resource officer, according to Roche.

The other three officers returned to regular duty, and Mullen now spends
most of his time at the high school and focuses on discipline, not
education. (DARE, which stands for Drug Abuse Resistance Education, is
generally targeted for fifth- and sixth-graders.)

"The community suffers a little from not having it in the elementary
schools," Roche said. "It's key to establishing a relationship (between
police and students). It was a shame it had to be cut."

Neighboring Tewksbury dropped DARE this year, and Chelmsford Police Chief
Raymond McCusker said his town will likely follow suit after students are
let out this spring.

"It's an important program," McCusker said. "Unfortunately, in these tough
fiscal times, we have to make some hard choices."

Lowell police Capt. Deborah Friedl said the department no longer officially
runs DARE, but uniformed officers still offer drug-awareness education in
the schools, supplemented by programs on gang resistance, bullying and
teen-dating violence.

"We still believe in (DARE), but when the funds (about $15,000 a year for
Lowell) got cut, so did the name," said Friedl, commanding officer of
Lowell's school resource officer program.

Eight officers are still assigned to city schools, focusing mainly on
Lowell high and the middle schools, Friedl said.

Police and school officials almost universally praise the DARE program, but
since its inception in 1983 in Los Angeles, many studies have questioned
DARE's efficacy.

In September 2001, the nonprofit National Center on Addiction and Substance
Abuse reported that "the significant amount of money spent on DARE"
produced "little, if any, effect in reducing substance use."

The U.S. surgeon general's office also stated in 2001 that "children who
participate (in DARE) are as likely to use drugs as those who do not
participate."

Faced with those reports and understaffed departments, local officials have
found it difficult to justify keeping DARE.

"When (communities) are talking about laying off officers, it's hard to say
you're keeping the guy in the schools," Anderson said.

Still, the 15-year veteran of DARE staunchly defends the program. Anderson
said DARE helped build a relationship between students and the Burlington
police built on respect instead of mistrust, and that kids who participated
learned valuable lessons about the dangers of drugs, alcohol and tobacco.

Anderson admits he has no statistics to back up his case, but his words are
echoed by many who have seen DARE in action.

Julie Brisbois, Wilmington's DARE officer, is one of the believers. She's
in her second year working with fifth-graders and is confident she is
making a difference in their lives. Brisbois hopes Wilmington, which has so
far been able to stave off cutting DARE, will continue to recognize the
program's value.

"You do have to defend it a lot," she admitted. "People question its
validity, whether it's effective."

In response to criticism, national organization DARE America has created a
new curriculum that will be in widespread use by September. Brisbois has
already adopted the revamped program in Wilmington and reported that kids
have reacted positively to information on not only drugs, but peer pressure
and decision-making.

"It really works well," Brisbois said. "It's a lot of 'what would you do if
you were put in this situation?'"

If DARE affects the lives of even one or two children, Brisbois said, her
work has not been in vain.

"Statistics and everything aside," she said, "It does help to build a bond
between the kids and myself that lasts."