'MR. DARE' CAUTIONS KIDS ABOUT DRUGS

California's DARE Officer of the Year teaches Concord schoolchildren
to stay away from drugs and to make decisions that will help them
succeed in life

Most people have heard of DARE : the anti-drug program offered in many
elementary schools by uniformed police officers. But few people can
readily recall the program's actual name.

Getting children to learn what DARE stands for is Officer David Nye's
first priority when he enters Concord elementary school classrooms.
But he doesn't just tell students : he challenges them to figure it
out themselves.

During Nye's first DARE visit to Wren Elementary School last month,
fifth-graders in Anne West's class were able to come up with the name
Drug Abuse Resistance Education after he prodded them with specific
hints for each word.

"In school, I'm going to try to educate you to resist abusing drugs,"
Nye told the youngsters. "We're also going to talk about violence,
crime, gangs : all kinds of things that you're going to need to make
choices about in your lifetime."

Nye has devoted much of his police career to the DARE program. In
fact, he was named California DARE Officer of the Year in July.

"He's Mr. DARE," said Chief Ron Ace. "He has become almost an
institution in the DARE field because he's committed himself to the
kids and PAL (Police Activities League) and any number of different
youth activities."

As part of this commitment, Nye organized a Red Ribbon Week DARE-PAL
5K walk for youth last Saturday. About 500 schoolchildren and their
families participated, raising money for various causes.

And Nye was at the Concord City Council meeting Tuesday night with his
partner, Officer Michelle Costeiu, passing out red ribbons. The pair
accepted a proclamation from Mayor Laura Hoffmeister naming this week
"Red Ribbon Week."

"I encourage all community members to pledge, 'My choice is drug
free,'" said Hoffmeister.

"Red Ribbon Week really is to capture people's attention about the
issue of drug and alcohol abuse," said Nye. "But the truth is, it
should last all year long."

The Concord Police Department employs two full-time DARE officers who
teach a semesterlong course to fifth-graders in public and private
schools in Concord. They also visit kindergarten through fourth-grade
classrooms to teach safety and other issues.

Nye wants students to stay away from drugs. But he also wants them to
be successful in life. He urges them to share the DARE curriculum with
their parents.

"Lots of research studies tell us that if you talk to your parents
about all of your problems growing up, you have the best chances of
being happy and successful in life," he told the Wren Avenue class.
"Don't give up that personal relationship with Mom and Dad."

Samantha Spencer said she thought Nye's visit was worthwhile.

"I think that he told us a lot and I think it's very important that we
learn this because a lot of teen-agers these days do drugs and that's
not good because they're messing their lives up for the future," said
the 10-year-old.

But some people have criticized the DARE program over the years,
alleging that it doesn't really prevent children from experimenting
with drugs or alcohol later in life.

"Some people take potshots because they don't like cops," said Nye.
"We're a high-profile, successful program across the nation. Some
people believe that a one-time fifth-grade class will be a total
lifetime inoculation against drugs : it's not."

He pointed out that the information taught in the DARE program needs
to be reinforced during students' middle school and high school years,
just as English, math and other subjects are taught each year.

He said police officers are merely the delivery system for a
curriculum developed by the Los Angeles Unified School District.

"As police officers, we have first-hand knowledge about drugs,
violence and gangs," he said. "And we're highly recognizable."

Decky Thornton, Pleasant Hill police juvenile specialist, nominated
Nye for DARE Officer of the Year recognition.

"It's almost a no-brainer that he's the DARE Officer of the Year : for
the whole world, I think," she said, noting that she implemented DARE
in Pleasant Hill schools in 1987, while Nye was starting up the
program in Concord schools.

"From the very beginning, he has just epitomized what it is all
about," Thornton continued. "One of the most important things about
David is that his spirit is to be kind and generous. He's not an
elitist and he's not someone who likes to get all the credit for
himself. He would share the shirt off his back to help someone."

Nye accepts his newfound recognition with humility.

"Any DARE officer deserves this," he said. "It was an unexpected honor
to be recognized.

"I love this job. I want to do it until I retire. I've been very
fortunate, because most agencies rotate DARE officers."

Nye could have risen through the ranks to a higher position within the
Concord Police Department, instead of sticking with the DARE program,
said Ace.

"In a way, you could say he's sacrificed his career."

But Nye has no regrets.

"Do what you want to do with your life : that's really what success
is," he advised the Wren Avenue fifth-graders.

By his own definition, Nye has achieved success.