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Click here to see an important announcement from the President of the United States
The Baton Rouge City Constable's Office began it's D.A.R.E. program in 2001. Since then, the program has grown from one full-time D.A.R.E. Instructor to four full-time and two part-time instructors. Housed under the Community Services Division, our D.A.R.E. program has grown in leaps and bounds. One of the tools that we utilize to teach is our customized police units. These police units are heavily modified with after-market equipment that helps get the children we teach to notice them. No taxpayer's money was used in building them. All equipment on these vehicles are usually donated or sponsored otherwise. See our list of supporters here. Don't be fooled though, as these are real police units capable of traffic stops and patrolling duties.
Our vehicles are shown here:
Not only do the instructors teach elementary students, they also promote the program to the public and act as ambassadors for the Constable. Tasks accomplished by the D.A.R.E. Team include Louisiana State D.A.R.E. Conventions, International D.A.R.E. Conventions, public appearances for health fairs, fingerprinting children and numerous car show competitions. The latest car show was inside the New Orleans Superdome for the 2009 National World of Wheels Custom Auto Show, sponsored by O'Reilly Auto Parts. The entire D.A.R.E. Team was invited to attend and participate by showing their customized police units.
Follow this link to see all the action!
In the paragraphs below is a full description of the program:
The D.A.R.E. program has three main goals. First, D.A.R.E. seeks to provide students with a knowledge base on the effects of drug abuse that go beyond the physical ramifications and extend to emotional, social, and economic aspects of life. Secondly, D.A.R.E. aims to build decision-making and problem solving skills and strategies to help students make informed decisions and resist drug use, peer pressure, and violence. Lastly, an integral part of the D.A.R.E. program is to provide students with alternatives to drug use.
D.A.R.E. is a universal program designed to reach the general population, rather than "at risk" groups, and it is most often implemented in the fifth and sixth grades. Research has shown this to be a time when children are very receptive to anti-drug messages, particularly as they approach the age associated with drug experimentation. The curriculum focuses on knowledge and skill development in seven areas:
1) cognitive information
2) recognizing pressures
3) refusal skills
4) consequential thinking and risk taking
5) interpersonal and communication skills
6) decision making
7) positive alternatives
Some of the D.A.R.E. lessons focus on raising awareness in these skill areas, while others emphasize their practical application.
D.A.R.E. is instinctive in its approach in that specially trained, uniformed police officers conduct the lessons in the classroom. By employing law enforcement officers to teach the curriculum, D.A.R.E. brings the firsthand accounts of the officers' experiences from the street to the classroom. It is this unique aspect of the program that not only intrigues students but also helps to foster a positive relationship between the students and police officers. While officers actually conduct the D.A.R.E. lessons, a licensed teacher is required to be present in the classroom. That teacher is expected to reinforce the D.A.R.E. material by integrating its objectives into the general curriculum for the particular grade level. It is believed that this will strengthen the students' understanding of the D.A.R.E. objectives and increase their confidence in applying those skills in a variety of situations.
The lessons provide factual information about drugs, with an emphasis on gateway drugs (marijuana, alcohol, and tobacco), and teach refusal skills through role-playing and other techniques. Since its inception, D.A.R.E. has undergone revisions as a result of research findings and is now more interactive, promoting active student participation. Additionally, D.A.R.E. has broadened its focus to include conflict resolution and gang prevention, and has expanded to encompass programs for parent education and after-school recreation and learning.
