Supporters of the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program say the plan continues to work in educating young students about drugs and alcohol, despite a study that claims otherwise.
The DARE program promotes zero use and is presented to 36 million youth annually in 52 nations. It is usually given to fifth graders an hour a week for 16 weeks by police officers who teach different ways to say no to drugs and alcohol.
Conducted by The Detroit News, the study on DARE’s effectiveness analyzed statistics from 30,000 metropolitan Detroit students. Drug and alcohol use of self-reported teens in 17 districts that offered the program in their elementary school was compared to teens in 16 districts that did not.
The study compared the number of students who said they had ever tried alcohol, illegal drugs or inhalants. It found no statistical difference between students in DARE and non-DARE districts.
Results of the study were released Feb. 27.
“I don’t measure the success of the program strictly on self-reporting. I think you have to ask, ‘Has DARE made this reporting more candid?’” said Bill Yeagley, director of Public Safety for Mount Pleasant.
“The program develops relationships with school teachers, police departments and students,” he said.
Yeagley said police departments in Isabella County joined about four years ago to form a cooperative youth-service unit to address concerns for all county youths. The unit includes two DARE officers who teach seven DARE classes per semester for fifth and sixth graders.
The majority of funds for Isabella County’s DARE program derives from the required biannual 2-percent allocation from the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe’s slots revenues.
Yeagley said the interaction between police and students through the DARE program is invaluable.
“Kids get to ask questions about drugs and alcohol, and the more information and education we provide, the smarter the decisions will be that kids make,” he said.
Surveys done by Isabella County police agencies have shown that students enjoy DARE education and interacting with police officers, Yeagley said.
Rosemary Cooper, community police officer for the Romulus Police Department, said she thinks DARE works well overall. Romulus, a Detroit suburb, was the first city in Michigan to provide DARE training from the elementary through the high-school level.
Currently, the Romulus Police Department has a part-time and a full-time DARE officer. Cooper said the department asks for feedback from students who have gone through DARE classes.
“Looking at kids’ reactions, they’ve reacted well, and are interested in it. Good skills are taught in it, and it just reinforces some of the things they already learned at home,” she said.
The only negative feedback about DARE she has received was in a study conducted by The Detroit News, Cooper said.
Detroit sophomore Lashauna Seabrook said she received DARE education in middle school and felt the program was a success.
“In the Detroit area, you can be easily approached about drugs and being taught to just say ‘no’ was a help,” she said.
“Never had it, but I don’t think it’s worthwhile,” Clawson senior Jeff Plegge said of DARE. “Any organization that tries to drill their message into people’s heads is, I think, going about it the wrong way.”
Students find out about drugs and alcohol on their own anyway, Plegge said.
Minnesota freshman Haley Hanson said, “What I learned about drug use was not from DARE, but from common sense and parental stuff.”
DARE was originally developed in 1983 by the Los Angeles Police Department in conjunction with the Los Angeles Unified School District, based on the premise that prevention is the only long-term answer to drug abuse.

E-mail the author: Anthony JudnichLIFE Staff Writer