DARE PROGRAM AT RISK OF ENDING

While the school district, faced with a staggering increase in drug
suspensions, investigates solutions, a drug education program is at risk of
being cut.

The DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) program, which has been taught
at the Grade 5 and 6 levels by RCMP officers for the last three years, is
under review as the local police detachment prioritizes what it can and
cannot do with limited staffing.

"There are some things that are nice-to-have and some that are
need-to-have," Supt. Andy Murray says.

"We need to have police officers on the street responding to crime and
investigating historical crime. If that means we need more officers on the
street, some programs are at risk. The DARE program is one of them."

A review of police operations is under way, says Murray, with a goal of
prioritizing responsibilities.

The five core functions - general duty, traffic, major crimes, drug
enforcement and community policing - will remain, but what else will won't
be known until the review is complete later in the year.

"It's the reality of business. Until we're able to present the argument to
the city for more resources, we have to review things." Kamloops is served
by 101 police officers, the lowest when stacked up to comparable communities.

Const. Kate Bamber has co-ordinated the local DARE program since its
inception locally in 2000.

Last year, the 17-week course was at the height of its success being taught
at 12 different schools. Bamber was assisted by three other officers.

This school year, however, she's been working alone, and only half-time as
she's also been pulled into traffic duty. As a result, only six schools
were targetted this year.

Bamber has submitted a proposal for an updated DARE program, which would
run only 10 weeks at a time, and is optimistic. "I don't think we've seen
the end of DARE in Kamloops."