bogota
police department
D.A.R.E.
Program
The Bogota Police Department's D.A.R.E.
Officer is Patrolman Victor Negron.
rug
Abuse Resistance Education, began in 1983 as a joint effort between the Los
Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles Unified School District. D.A.R.E.
programs have been a tremendous success and exist in all 50 states and a number
of foreign countries. The United States Department of Defense has implemented
the program in their schools throughout the world.
For information about D.A.R.E., contact the
Bogota Police Department at
201-487-2400.
D.A.R.E. Defines Our Nation At Risk
The number of students abusing drugs and
alcohol in the U.S. is at the highest level of any industrialized nation in the
world. The rapid increase of students experimenting with drugs has begun to
taper off, but the starting age gets younger and younger. For example, a poll by
Weekly Reader Magazine shows a quarter of all fourth graders feel pressured to
try alcohol or marijuana.
The lethal aim of drug dealers is to catch
children at an early age and to influence them into developing drug habits. Once
the children are addicted, dealers have deadly control over their lives.
Adolescents may be susceptible to taking drugs or alcohol because their effect
symbolizes a false value of independence, rebellion and adulthood. Thoughts of
risking health and well-being seem to be of a minor importance.
D.A.R.E. aims at reducing these risks by
providing children with the knowledge, positive attitudes and skills needed to
make healthy decisions, especially those related to alcohol and drug use.
The D.A.R.E. Involvement
The D.A.R.E. program for schools includes 80
hours of police officer and teacher training and a semester-long, 17-week
curriculum, complete with classroom teaching aids. The program also includes 6th
grade pre-program testing. There are separate presentations for kindergarten
through 5th grade students, and special workshops for parents and teachers.
Parental Involvement and Support
The key to the program's success is parental
involvement. Evening workshops, led by the officer teaching at the school, are
offered to parents. This provides parents with information about drugs and
abuse, the D.A.R.E. program itself and ways to reinforce the program's messages
at home.
We Must Take Responsibility and Prevent the
Problem
Drug education is seen as the key for reducing
the demand for drugs. The D.A.R.E. program is introduced to youth before they
are exposed to drugs. The primary focus of the program is directed toward 5th
and 6th graders. Introductory presentations also are given to kindergarten
through 4th grade students. This program will expand into junior high and high
schools as resources permit.
D.A.R.E. encourages students to have a more
positive outlook toward law enforcement, school and home.
With the help of D.A.R.E., children become more
self-confident and cooperate with family members and their peers. This positive
attitude will spread to all segments of society and eventually help to decrease
friction between ethnic groups.
Program evaluations have shown that D.A.R.E.
works. The program teaches students how to say "NO" to drugs. D.A.R.E. also
contributes to improved study habits and grades, decreased vandalism and gang
activity and a greater respect for police officers.
For information about D.A.R.E., contact the
Bogota Police Department at
201-487-2400.
