d.a.r.e.

D.A.R.E. is an educational program to help kids learn about drugs, peer pressure, and the effects that drugs have on people. Each student receives a D.A.R.E. workbook with several activities and stories in it. The program consists of ten forty-five minute lessons taught by a street-experienced police officer. D.A.R.E., Drug Abuse Resistance Education is a nation wide program in use in many schools in America.

The Lincoln County Sheriff's Department D.A.R.E. unit consists of five deputies who are actively teaching the program. The Lincoln County Sheriff's Department D.A.R.E. program is fully funded by the sheriff's Department.

The officers are more than D.A.R.E. officers, they are also School Resource Officers (SRO). Deputy Chris Bosley is assigned to the Silex School District. Deputy Wade O'Heron is assigned to the Winfield School District. Corporal Andy Binder, Deputy Ryan McCarrick, Deputy George Forir, Deputy April Epperson and Deputy Jacob Martinez are assigned to the Troy School District. Deputy Tim Princivalli is assigned to the Elsberry School District.

The SRO is an experienced officer assigned to a school and serves as a law enforcement officer on campus as well as a mentor and teacher. All of the SRO's have received certification training and are recognized by the State of Missouri as certified School Resource Officers. The SRO is a resource for students, staff, and parents. The SRO enforces the law on and off the school campus, investigates crimes, writes reports, makes arrests, and juvenile referrals. The SRO works closely with the staff of the school, interacts with the students, and is a liaison officer between the school and other law enforcement agencies. The SRO consults with parents in areas of the officer's expertise.

D.A.R.E. officers can teach the D.A.R.E. program, they can initiate several positive alternative activity programs, they can be a positive role model for the youth in our community and still the desired results would be limited. The D.A.R.E. program requires more than a uniformed officer in the classroom, it requires the involvement of the school and most importantly the involvement of the parents to be a truly effective program. Parents are the first and most powerful role model in the life of their child. Parents are children's first "ROLE MODELS" and what parents do, children will also do. There is a sign in a school that reads, "If we are not practicing what we teach, then we are teaching something different." Parents should re-enforce at home what the D.A.R.E. officer is teaching at school.