CRIME!: DARE KIDS EDUCATED

Langley RCMP officers are in local elementary schools, teaching kids the
benefits of being drug-free.

DARE is an acronym for Drug Abuse Resistance Education. The program is
designed to give elementary school kids the skills needed to resist the
social pressures of experimenting with tobacco, alcohol and other drugs.

In Langley, two uniformed officers visit Grade 5 students during a 17-week
interactive course. It costs $11 per student to run the DARE program.
Students must actively participate as part of their personal planning
curriculum.

"The program involves role playing, reading and homework, and they have to
write an essay as part of their graduation requirements," Langley RCMP DARE
co-ordinator Cpl. Laurie Jalbert said.

The lessons focus on:

- - providing skills for recognizing and resisting social pressures to
experiment with tobacco, alcohol and drugs;

- - helping enhance self esteem;

- - teaching positive alternatives to substance abuse and other destructive
behaviours (particularly gangs and violence);

- - developing skills in risk-assessment, decision making and conflict
resolution;

- - and building interpersonal and communication skills.