Studies on effectiveness 1992 – Indiana University It is now less explicitly focused on opposition to drugs, with the broader aim of teaching good decision-making. The new program is called "Keepin' it REAL" and focuses less on lectures and more on interactive activities, such as practicing refusal and saying no to pressure. Īfter decades of antagonism toward DARE because of its ineffectiveness, curriculum was changed starting in 2009. Funding for DARE was greatly reduced in the 2000s because of its poor performance at reducing drug use, particularly following a General Accounting Office report in 2003 which found "no significant differences in illicit drug use" caused by DARE. Yet the program remained popular among politicians and many members o the public for decades, in part because of a common intuitive judgement that the program should work.
One study found that DARE students were actually more likely to use drugs. Scientific studies cast doubt on the effectiveness of DARE starting in the early 1990s, with many concluding that DARE did nothing to reduce illicit drug use. Officers would sometimes arrive in sports cars that police had seized from drug dealers, which was intended to demonstrate that drugs lead to losing coveted possessions. Officers were also encouraged to spend time with students informally, such as playing basketball or chatting with students over lunch. These lessons were derived from SMART, an anti-drug program under development at the University of Southern California, but they were adapted to be delivered by police officers instead of educators. Curriculum also condemned graffiti and tattoos because they were considered to be the result of peer pressure.
Ĭurriculum consisted of lectures on the harmful consequences of drug and alcohol use, how to refuse drugs, building self-esteem and support networks, and alternatives to drugs. In 2002, DARE had an annual budget of over $10 million. It was funded by the federal government in the Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act of 1986, which mentions DARE by name. At the program's heigh, it was in 75% of American school districts. In 1988, Ronald Reagan proclaimed the first National DARE Day. A local program at first, DARE spread rapidly in the 1980s. The program was developed in 1983 on the initiative of Daryl Gates, chief of the Los Angeles Police Department, in collaboration with Harry Handler, superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District. The program was conducted by uniformed police officers who visited classrooms. 2.7 2007 – Perspectives on Psychological ScienceĭARE program materials from 1991 describe it as "a drug abuse prevention education program designed to equip elementary school children with skills for resisting peer pressure to experiment with tobacco, drugs, and alcohol." It was created as a part of the war on drugs in the United States, with the intention of reducing the demand for drugs through education that would make drug use unappealing.2.6 2001 – Office of the Surgeon General.2.4 1998 – National Institute of Justice.2.3 1995 – California Department of Education.has launched a new elementary and a new middle school curriculum this year. A specially trained officer comes into your school and teaches the children. program is usually introduced to children in the 5th or 6th grade. And since between 70% and 90% of all crime is drug related, it is absolutely vital that we reach the children of America before it is too late. teaches kids how to recognize and resist the direct and subtle pressures that influence them to experiment with alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, and other drugs.
The Sheriff's Office conducts summer outreach and child registry programs, sponsors Explorers Post, participates in youth bowling leagues, recruits middle school students for summer camps and provides a variety of other education programs in our schools.ĭ.A.R.E. The Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) program and other education programs have called for new and positive interactions between police and youth. The Sheriff's Office takes proactive efforts toward helping our youth. Searches Media Reports Warrants Inmates Doxpop (Public Records) Indiana DOC Sex/Violent Offender FBI Most Wanted Links