POLICE BUCK TREND, RESTART DARE

POWDER SPRINGS - The city's police department is reinstating its DARE
program this year after a 10-year absence, and police officials say they
give no credence to studies that say it's ineffective.

"I'm aware people say it's harmful, but I don't believe it," Commander Mark
Weaver said. "It's one of the best programs out there. There's no evidence
to substantiate that."

Officer Erika Bailey recently returned from a two-week Drugs and Alcohol
Resistance Education training and agreed with Weaver in that the program
has proven to be successful.

"I strongly disagree with studies saying the program actually gets kids to
use drugs," Bailey said. "I don't know all the statistics, but I do know
the percentages of alcohol, tobacco and drug use among young people are the
lowest they've been since 1994."

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill conducted a study of 81
school districts in 11 states, and discovered programs like DARE may be
prevalent, but a UNC professor said last month there is "little or no data
to show that they have proven to be effective."

A spate of cities across the nation have recently ended their DARE programs
including Cincinnati, Seattle, Milwaukee and Houston.

Dr. Denise Hallfors, a research associate professor of maternal and child
health at UNC, said the study found a police officer or teacher telling
students not to do drugs doesn't cut it.

According to Bailey and Weaver, however, local school systems have found
the opposite to be true.

"Marietta and Austell have strong programs," Bailey said. Weaver seconded
that by adding that both students and parents can relate to the program.

The city decided to bring DARE back when the use of alcohol, tobacco and
recreational drugs such as marijuana and ecstasy increased in Powder Springs.

"They're big in Powder Springs right now, just like they are in Cobb County
and the rest of metro Atlanta," Bailey said.

Weaver and Bailey said the police department is hoping to combat that by
infiltrating elementary schools, especially fifth grade classes.

"We're really excited about it," Bailey said. "We hope this starts a
wildfire in Cobb County."