NCJ Number
109682
Journal
Law and Order Volume: 35 Issue: 12 Dated: (December 1987) Pages: 22-24
Date Published
1987
Length
3 pages
Annotation
This article describes the Illinois State Police statewide implementation of the DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) curriculum developed by the Los Angeles Unified School District and the Los Angeles Police Department (California) and taught in fifth and sixth grade classrooms.
Abstract
DARE lessons, which last about 1 hour, are presented to students by specially trained uniformed police officers once a week for 17 consecutive weeks. Along with learning how to react when offered drugs, children learn about peer resistance, self-concept improvement, handling stress, respect for the law, personal safety, and glamorization of drugs and alcohol in the media. This article reviews the Illinois State Police role in training DARE officers from local law enforcement agencies and the highly competitive selection process. Also covered are instructional methods, participant's opinions regarding the program, and the special DARE curriculum developed for hearing-impaired students. Attitudes toward DARE from the community and school staff are discussed. The article concludes with evaluation results, noting that over 96 percent of the teachers and principals surveyed agreed that DARE made a positive impression on the children and was a valuable program.