D.A.R.E. Supporters

NBC DATELINE Story on D.A.R.E.

As you are probably aware, Friday, February 21, 1997, the NBC DATELINE Show broadcast a story on D.A.R.E. While not totally positive, the segment clearly demonstrated D.A.R.E.'s immense broad-based popularity and acceptance across the nation.

The story featured positive images of D.A.R.E. including interviews with students who were excited by and were learning from the program. There was video of President Clinton praising the D.A.R.E. program and the D.A.R.E. officers. The show ran an interview with the nation's drug czar General Barry McCaffrey who strongly defended the D.A.R.E. program and its effectiveness. McCaffrey told the viewing audience that, "D.A.R.E. is a tremendous source for good!".

As with most media stories, the DATELINE piece included its fair share of criticism of the D.A.R.E. program, interviewing the Seattle Chief of Police and Malthea Falco from the Drug Strategies Institute and a few others. Here are some facts that may be helpful to you in responding to any inquires:

More then 30 independent studies have substantiated the effectiveness of D.A.R.E. as a drug and violence prevention program. DATELINE discounted the Ohio State University study by claiming that two researchers said it was meaningless. However, they neglected to disclose the names of the two researchers or how they arrived at this conclusion. The Ohio study is the only current research that examined the most updated D.A.R.E. curriculum. Although DATELINE regarded the resulting data as modest, in fact, the results were definitive, with 73 percent of the D.A.R.E. students falling into the low-risk group as compared to 58 percent of non-D.A.R.E. subjects.

As the show pointed out, research on D.A.R.E. indicates positive short-term effects. Based on this effectiveness at the elementary level and the research consensus for reinforcement, we are promoting the expansion of D.A.R.E. into middle and high schools. As President Levant explained on the show, one year of D.A.R.E. or any other prevention program does not provide a lifetime inoculation against drug use. The eradication of drug abuse must include a number of different elements including interdiction, treatment and school-based drug prevention.

Seattle Chief of Police:
The Seattle Chief stated he dropped that he dropped the D.A.R.E. program even though D.A.R.E. had accomplished much in the community. Seattle D.A.R.E. was not widely disseminated, they had only 4 to 5 part-time officers. In addition, the Chief claimed that "cops are not teachers." It should be noted that most every study on D.A.R.E. indicates that one of the key elements that separate D.A.R.E. from other programs is the high quality teaching and delivery of D.A.R.E. by the unformed officers.

The Chief claimed that "a lot of other Chiefs" have questioned the program. As all of you know, D.A.R.E. is being taught in 10,000 communities at this time and receives almost unanimous acclaim from police chiefs and sheriffs. None of these many law enforcement D.A.R.E. supporters were interviewed to balance the story. There is no evidence to support his assertion that large numbers of police chiefs around the country would like to drop D.A.R.E.. To the contrary, only a small number of communities discontinue D.A.R.E. each year (generally due to budget constraints), while between 250 and 300 cities add the program annually. In fact last year, 250 cities including New York and Washington, D.C implementing the program.

Malthea Falco:
As the director of the non-governmental Drug Strategies agency she recently produced a review of School Drug Prevention Programs. In the report, D.A.R.E. was graded highly in the following areas that are considered by research studies as key elements to successful prevention teaching:

  • helps students recognize internal pressures, like anxiety and stress, and external pressures, like peer attitudes and advertising
  • develops personal, social and refusal skills to resist these pressures
  • teaches that using drugs, alcohol, and tobacco are not the norm among teenagers, even if students think that "everyone is doing it."
  • provides developmentally appropriate material and activities about the consequences of drug
  • uses interactive teaching techniques
  • actively involves the family and the community
  • includes officer training and support
    •

    In conclusion, implementation of D.A.R.E.'s K-12 curriculum, as part of an overall comprehensive effort, is consistent with the latest research on the best approach to reduce drugs and violence among America's youth. The D.A.R.E. Scientific Advisory Board recently responded to concerns about the D.A.R.E. program by releasing a document which states in part, "D.A.R.E. has been clearly shown to make a difference. The D.A.R.E. curriculum improves skills that help students resist risk-taking behaviors and peer influences that might lead to drug use."

    The D.A.R.E. Scientific Advisory Board

    RESPONDS TO FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
    Background

    D.A.R.E. is the acronym for Drug Abuse Resistance Education, the single most widely-used substance abuse prevention and safety promotion curriculum in the world. First developed in 1983, D.A.R.E. has undergone multiple revisions as research findings increased knowledge of effective substance abuse prevention among school-aged youth. There are several components to the D.A.R.E. curriculum including the "core curriculum" for fifth or sixth grade; visitation for kindergarten - fourth grade; a middle school/junior high program; a senior high cirriculum; and a parenting component. More than 70 percent of America's school districts have adopted the program, and over 8,000 cooperative partnerships between law enforcement and education are in place across the country. By virtue of D.A.R.E.'s extensive use and national impact, D.A.R.E. has achieved immense name recognition in association with substance abuse prevention, making the D.A.R.E. officer the most recognizable symbol for community policing and prevention.