D.A.R.E. Or Drug Abuse Resistance Education is an anti-drug educational program that is a cooperation between local police departments and school districts. Typically a uniformed officer from the local police agency visits junior high schools in the community and presents an educational program designed to curb teenage drug experimentation.

According to Abadinsky (2004) the program is successful, “The use of uniformed police officers is seen as a key element in the program’s success”. The goal is for students to gain greater respect for police officers and commit to a pledge not to use drugs.

The D.A.R.E pledge is typically a short statement committing to being Drug-Free. For example the Katy School District D.A.R.E. Pledge is, “I pledge allegiance to myself and who I want to because I can make my dreams come true if I believe in me. I pledge to stay in school and learn things I need to know. To make the world a better place for kids like me to grow. I pledge to keep my dreams alive and be all I can be I know I can, and thats because I pledge to stay Drug-Free!! “.

Since some community tax dollars are typically used to support the D.A.R.E. Program, the effectiveness of the D.A.R.E. Program has been in debate.

D.A.R.E. America (2007), the non profit organization started in Los Angeles claims that the program is successful, “D.A.R.E. was founded in 1983 in Los Angeles and has proven so successful that it is now being implemented in 75 percent of our nation’s school districts and in more than 43 countries around the world.”. However D.A.R.E. America does not list any factual independent studies on the program’s success.

At the pinnacle of the D.A.R.E. program’s reach in the late 1990’s studies were released that called the effectiveness of D.A.R.E. Into question. A 1991, U.S. Department of Justice Study concluded that D.A.R.E. Graduates were just as likely to use drugs as their peers who were not exposed to the D.A.R.E. Program.

Many articles and television programs have condemned the D.A.R.E. Program. According to an article published in the Daily Hampshire Gazette in 1998, “ Experts offer a number of explanations for DARE’s failure. An effective drug education program is, to begin with, difficult to devise. Some youths don’t trust information from the police. And there’s little reason to believe that a 17-hour course in the last year of elementary school will have any significant effect. (Newman, 1998). On February 21, 1997 NBC aired an episode of Dateline NBC which also condemned the D.A.R.E. Program as ineffective.

Several other major studies including a 1991 State of Kentucky study, 1990 Government of Canada study, and 1993 study by the Research Triangle Institute, have all concluded that D.A.R.E. Program hasn’t made any statistical impact.

Police departments, school districts, and public officials have gone on the defensive – claiming D.A.R.E. Is a valuable program. Former President Clinton made a statement that, “I know personally, as a father and as President, how much good D.A.R.E. has done. As Governor of Arkansas, I saw D.A.R.E. in action when my daughter Chelsea went through it. D.A.R.E. teaches kids about the effects of peer pressure and the consequences of taking drugs. D.A.R.E. teaches kids how to boost their own self-esteem without resorting to drugs.” Former Attorney General Janet Reno also defended D.A.R.E., “D.A.R.E. America ~ an organization that is one of the best examples of community-based policing in the country. It is part of a program that builds personal relationships between law enforcement and the community … I have seen D.A.R.E.’s success first hand in Florida where I served as State Attorney and nationwide in my service as Attorney General. For more than a decade, D.A.R.E. has been forging positive links between police and the people they serve… D.A.R.E. is more than a drug abuse prevention and violence avoidance program. D.A.R.E. is a good start in bringing community-based policing to neighborhoods across the nation.”

D.A.R.E. Proponents have also listed several studies that show D.A.R.E. Is effective including a 1993 Gallup Survey of D.A.R.E. Students. Most of the studies however, are based on opinions of the D.A.R.E. Program and do not study the direct impact of D.A.R.E. On drug usage.

Indeed, the D.A.R.E program was born in the 1980’s during the Reagan Administration’s “War on Drugs” and the era of so-called “Crack Babies”. The tactics of America’s war on drugs included the propaganda that all drugs are harmful, highly addictive, and deadly. Could this be the problem? Is D.A.R.E. Attempting to scare kids away from drugs?

In my opinion the D.A.R.E. Program has a very admirable goal of keeping the youth of America drug free. D.A.R.E. Should be revised but, not eliminated. Perhaps, if the D.A.R.E. Program engaged students with blunt and factual information instead of ineffectual scare tactics, the program might be more effective at having a direct impact in the prevention of drug use and addiction.

I also believe the D.A.R.E. Program has some redeeming qualities including exposing youth to policemen and policewomen as positive role models in environment that isn’t adversarial.

I also do firmly believe that in this modern world – teenagers need to know how to cope with issues like drug and alcohol abuse and the true dangers involved. A more realistic approach would include information like how to prevent an friend who is under the influence from getting behind the wheel, and how to establish an open and honest dialog with parents.

Expecting every participant in the D.A.R.E. Program to pledge they will never experiment in drugs simply isn’t realistic. Free T-shirts and bumper stickers won’t stop adolescents from experimenting with drugs and alcohol.

References

United States Department of Justice. (1991), The D.A.R.E. Program: A Review of Prevalence, User Satisfaction, and Effectiveness.

D.A.R.E. America. (2007), Website: http://www.dare.com

Katy Intermediate School District. (2007). Website: http://www.katyisd.org/services/police/dare/pledge.htm

Abadinsky, Howard. (2004). Drugs: An Introduction. Belmont, CA.: Thomson Wadsworth.

APA Citation:
Smith, Nathan. M. (2007). Does D.A.R.E. Work?.
Retrieved September 8, 2008, from http://www.computer-forensic-technician.com/wordpress/does-dare-work/.