Pubdate: Thu, 28 Jul 2005 Source: Knoxville News-Sentinel (TN) Copyright: 2005 The Knoxville News-Sentinel Co. Contact: http://www.knoxnews.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/226 Author: Associated Press Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/dare.htm (D.A.R.E.) CHATTANOOGA DROPS DARE AFTER POLICE END INVOLVEMENT IN PROGRAM CHATTANOOGA - Chattanooga police decided to end their involvement in the DARE anti-drug program, but Chief Steve Parks said officers would continue to patrol schools in the city. "We had been looking at doing this on and off for some months," Parks said Tuesday. "One of the difficulties we had with DARE was that it was difficult to evaluate the program's success." A Hamilton County schools spokeswoman said the decision, three years after Sheriff John Cupp withdrew his officers' involvement, ends the program. "The data on it was showing the program was not effective," Cupp said Tuesday. Schools in Cincinnati and Seattle began dropping the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program in 2001, citing studies that showed it was ineffective. The DARE headquarters are in Inglewood, Calif., according to the organization's Web site. A study conducted at the University of Kentucky in 1999 revealed that students who took the course in fifth grade did not differ in their attitude toward drugs some 10 years later. Records show about 80 percent of the nation's school districts teach the anti-drug course, and DARE officials have said numerous independent studies show the program provides benefits. Cupp, who started the program in county schools in 1990, said it became too expensive. When Cupp stopped his department's involvement, the city and county spent a combined $260,000 annually for DARE materials and salaries. Parks said the city would provide eight officers to patrol 11 schools. "We are committed to a level of safety inside the schools," he said. - --- MAP posted-by: Beth