BUDGET FORCES CHANGES IN POLICE DEPARTMENT

In a cost-cutting move, the Chicago Heights police department is operating
with fewer officers.

But administrators are quick to point out that service hasn't been affected.

To help fight the city's budget problems, police officials say they have
decided not to fill seven vacancies created by officers who took other jobs
or retired since Mayor Anthony DeLuca took office in May.

DeLuca and Police Chief Anthony Murphy said they have kept the level of
protection up by eliminating administrative positions and scheduling
officers better. Officers that were once assigned to office duty now are
out in the field more.

But the efficiency comes at a cost. The department has cut its Drug Abuse
Resistance Education program.

Though budget constraints and manpower were considerations for cutting
DARE, Murphy said other factors figured into the department's decision.

The decision was made after consultation with Chicago Heights School
District 170, Murphy said. With schools on the state's academic watch list,
the district and police department decided the time spent teaching DARE
could be better spent with academics.

Murphy said questions about DARE's effectiveness was another reason why the
department eliminated it this year.

Though a popular program across the country, DARE has come under increased
scrutiny over the past decade. Studies by Indiana University and the
American Journal of Public Health from 1994 to the present deemed that DARE
had a "limited effect" or was even "counterproductive."

"20/20 did a program on it calling into question how well DARE works,"
DeLuca said.

The city and department will continue to work closely with the school
district, DeLuca said. Talia Palanca, the city's youth violence prevention
coordinator, is working with the district's Strengthening Families program,
which picks up slack from DARE and addresses truancy.

District 170 Supt. Dollie Helsel said the families program has been a
success so far.

Depending on next year's budget, Murphy and DeLuca said the city would
re-evaluate whether to start DARE again.