THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, November 26, 1994 TAG: 9411230014
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A08 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Short : 44 lines
As a police officer with 20-plus years' experience, and as a Drug Abuse Resistance Enforcement officer for the past six years, I comment on your editorial ``Does D.A.R.E. do?'' (Nov. 15).
I am a member of the Franklin Police Department, an agency that believes strongly in the D.A.R.E. program and its benefits. I am certified to teach all aspects of the program at school and the D.A.R.E. parent program.
Your editorial references a study by the Research Triangle Institute. The study was commissioned by the Justice Department and latter rejected as flawed by the same department.
I wonder how any researcher could measure any prevention program. How could one possibly poll a non-drug user and expect him or her to honestly pinpoint a program that explains his or her non-use of drugs?
D.A.R.E. is but part of any solution to drug use, but a strong part.
The editorial quotes the RTI study: ``Unless there's some sort of booster session that reinforces the original curriculum, the effects of most drug-use-prevention programs decay.'' I agree in part with this statement, and this is exactly why many agencies around the country provide students with middle-school and senior-high-school D.A.R.E. classes that build on the messages taught in earlier years. I also agree that no program can begin to be a substitute for strong parents and strong values. But many students do not have the luxury of strong parents who instill family values in their children.
You say that D.A.R.E. sessions employ ``touchy-feely pop psychology of the 1970s.'' Except for the former D.A.R.E. mascot, D.A.R.E. Bear, the classes center on real-life situations in an honest format. D.A.R.E. officers frankly discuss pertinent issues with today's children. Many students seem to feel that the D.A.R.E. officer is the one person who will give them a straight answer to tough questions about tough issues.
PAUL E. KAPLAN
Franklin, Nov. 15, 1994 by CNB