CUTTING DARE WAS AN UNINFORMED DECISION

It never ceases to amaze me when reading news from the Queen City how those
who are important and those without a clue concerning the subject matter at
hand make far-reaching law-enforcement decisions.

This time it was the DARE programs that were in place in Cincinnati
schools. Seven officers were assigned to this very valuable police-youth
endeavor, yet, one councilman with no training or experience in
law-enforcement matters decided it would be best to terminate the program
and reassign the officers to patrol the streets. Yes, the streets of
Cincinnati are in fact "mean" these days due in no small part to the inept
and shortsighted leadership of some council members. It does not appear
from reports of the DARE program's termination that any local law
enforcement professionals or school officials were consulted before the
knee-jerk decision.

At a time when the relationship between "Cincinnati's Finest" and the
citizenry is at an all-time low, another city father looking to bask in the
sun of media attention has taken center stage at the expense of the city.
Unfortunately, like the Pied Piper he has convinced a majority of his
equally uniformed colleagues that the DARE program today involves little
more than drug awareness; the program has been expanded in recent years to
cover such timely and relevant issues for children such as conflict
resolution, anger management, respect for others and self-esteem.

Furthermore, the value of such a program to positive and enhanced
youth-police relations cannot be denied. Even more pathetic is the fact
that the myopic decision of one councilman (Tarbell) was characterized by
another (DeWine) as "courageous." Makes me glad I'm a sheriff from the
county where such decisions that can significantly impact the present and
future of the community are properly left to those in the know and not
relegated to politicians looking to get a splash of ink in the local media.

A.J. Rodenberg Clermont County sheriff