Source: The Herald, Everett, WA Editorial Pubdate: Sun, 13 Apr 1997 Contact: DARE programs are good for young, communities Young people in America today need the internal resources to resist drugs. And they will need that strength of character in the future too. The temptations to abuse drugs and alcohol are perennials. No society, from Biblical times to the present, has ever been free of such problems. But it is the responsibility of adults to prepare young people as well as possible for such challenges. In recent years, much of America has added a new approach in trying to meet that duty. Drug Abuse Resistance Education programs have grown up all over the country. In Snohomish county, DARE classes began just 10 years ago. According to various studies, the programs have no demonstrated effect on drug and alcohol abuse among young people. So, as Americans sometimes do when their demands for instant gratification go unmet, there is a rush in some places to abandon DARE. Let's get a grip. It's reasonable that DARE is being dropped by some police agencies with situations like that of the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office, where critical understaffing causes concerns about officer safety. But the better news often overlooked is that most police agencies in Snohomish County and elsewhere have been able to stick with the programs for schools within their city limits. In cities such as Everett, Lynwood, Edmonds and Marysville, DARE continues. And for good reason. As a society, we have made progress against drug abuse since the mid1980's, when DARE was first being conceived. But the progress is far from uniform. In that situation, it makes little sense to start letting down our guard. Many who have been involved with DARE have doubts about the adequacy of the studies questioning whether results can be shown. They say that the information may not adequately control the factors at work. As with many areas of research, the real answers may not be apparent until several rounds of study have narrowed down the issues. In a larger sense, however, the payoff for DARE isn't necessarily in obviously quantifiable results of reduced drug abuse. Nor was DARE whether limited to the core curriculum in the fifth grade or followed up with middle school programs ever really intended to stand alone as the answer to drug abuse. As Lynnwood police Sgt. Brian Burkhalter put it on these pages late last year, DARE was created as a partnership between schools, parents, the police and the community to work toward solutions together. Just as none should ever expect teachers to be solely responsible for the education of our children, police officers and DARE should never be held responsible for solving our drug problems." Indeed, says Everett Sgt. Dan O'Neill, discussions at home and example by parents are almost certainly the biggest influence on young people. Families, in fact, need to keep that in mind. Rather than relying on DARE officers or teachers to handle the discussions, parents need to make sure they talk about the issues. However that is handled, DARE's larger value in building good relations between police and young people should not be underestimated. For every parent's car sporting one of the DARE bumper stickers, there are dozens of boys and girls who have learned a whole new appreciation of police officers. Whether others do a good job of reinforcing the antidrug message or not, the young people remember the officers who come into their classrooms each week for a semester. Laurie Baker of the Everett School District says that two officers currently helping out at high schools had been DARE officers before. The students clearly remember the officers and appreciate them, he says. A bond of trust has been created. That's a sound investment in the future. And DARE remains a good investment in young people. It doesn't take statistics for communities to know that having adults talk to kids about responsible behavior is a part of rearing healthy young people. DARE doesn't create miracles. But it is a common sense approach that merits continuation wherever the dollars and cents can be found.