DARE programs continue despite staffing issues

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Police departments throughout the Las Vegas Valley are continuing their efforts to keep children off drugs and out of gangs through two programs aimed at educating elementary school students.

The Metropolitan and Henderson police departments use the Drug Abuse Resistance Education, or DARE program to educate fifth-graders, while the North Las Vegas Police Department uses a similar program called Gang Resistance Education And Training, or GREAT.

Though personnel from all three police departments said they remain dedicated to teaching the programs, lack of funds and officers has recently led to cutbacks in some parts of the valley.

Howard Nelson, a teacher at May Elementary School, said that for the 13 years he has taught fifth grade there the school has had the DARE program. This year, an officer came in for two weeks, then disappeared.

"I called and said the officer hadn't shown up, and they said 'He's retired,' " Nelson said. "It's kind of a thing all the fifth-graders look forward to each year. There are arguments about whether it works or not, but the kids really enjoy it."

In addition to disappointed students, Nelson said some parents called the school to ask what happened to the program.

"All I could do was apologize to the parents," Nelson said.

In the case of May elementary, Metro Sgt. Mark Sharp, DARE supervisor and program administrator for Nevada DARE programs, said the officer was replaced, but it didn't happen until the first part of May. That didn't leave enough time to train the new officer before the end of the school year, he said.

However, Sharp said the 2006-07 school year will likely mark the first time since beginning the program in 1986 that Metro will be unable to take the DARE program into all of the city's schools. He said DARE officers have been unable to keep up with the city's growth.

Metro currently has 17 DARE officers who were, until last year, assigned to the 147 elementary schools in the city of Las Vegas. Those DARE officers teach a 12-week curriculum that deals with alcohols, drugs, gangs and refusal skills. Sharp said the curriculum also focuses on self-esteem.

"We get five or so new schools every year, but I haven't had an increase in manpower since 2001," Sharp said, though he has submitted a request for another officer.

Because of that growth, Sharp said it's likely the DARE program won't reach up to eight Las Vegas schools during the upcoming school year. Those schools will include five set to open in the fall, and Sharp said two others probably also will be taken off the program.

However, Sharp also said the entire police department has felt the strain of the valley's growth, and there are not enough officers on the street.

"I would like to have DARE officers right away, but I also know when people pick up the phone and dial 911, they want an officer to come," he said.

While Nelson, Sharp and Mattoon agreed that there is no way to determine whether the program actually keeps youngsters off drugs, they said DARE provides them with a positive experience interacting with police officers. Another cited benefit of the program is that it gives students a way to contact the police about problems at home.

"We end up finding children who have been sexually abused by a parent or a relative," or children dealing with other problems at home, Sharp said. "Each class has a DARE box, and kids can put a question in there for an officer."

Because children are told their questions will be kept confidential, Sharp said many times DARE officers find notes from students about abuse or other problems either they or a friend are experiencing.

"That in itself, being able to reach a child stuck in that situation, is worth it," he said.

Sharp said parents also have called to say they've seen changes in their children's behavior because of the program.

Nelson said where the message is coming from makes a difference.

"Anytime the officers, rather than parents or teachers, are telling kids to stay away from gangs and drugs, that has a big impact on them," Nelson said.

Sgt. Tiffany Morey, acting manager of the North Las Vegas Police Department's community services division, said North Las Vegas police taught the DARE program for about 10 years. Three years ago, with the addition of Police Chief Mark Paresi, the GREAT program was introduced as a replacement for DARE.

"(Paresi) had known GREAT and had been an instructor in Portland, and he really believed in the program," Morey said.

She said in addition to teaching a similar curriculum to the DARE program, GREAT instructors don't have to be active duty police officers.

"The wonderful thing about GREAT is that if you have been a commissioned officer, and were certified in GREAT, you can continue as an instructor after retirement, if you keep up your certification," she said.

Jennie Ives, a retired police officer who now works in a civilian position as a crime specialist, serves as the North Las Vegas Police Department's GREAT instructor.

"She does this as a civilian, and it's good because it doesn't take away from officers to cover the street," Morey said.

Ives still holds her GREAT certification and also serves as a national trainer for the program, Morey said.

The GREAT program is funded by the federal Bureau of Justice Assistance. Morey said the police department receives a grant to pay for teaching materials for youth participating in the program.

However, Morey said the North Las Vegas Police Department still can't afford to teach the full GREAT course at all 32 elementary and middle schools in North Las Vegas, so the department tries to look into areas with the most problems.

"They hit as many (schools) as the schedule will allow per school year," she said. "It's impossible to hit all of them."

Morey said the gang task force also is consulted regarding which schools should receive the GREAT program. Otherwise, schools receive the program on a rotational basis.

Morey said if a teacher is having problems with one particular class, the teacher can consult with the department to have GREAT come to that class.

Generally, about 20 North Las Vegas schools will get at least some contact from the GREAT program each year, and about six will get the full program, which Morey said takes between two to three months from beginning to end.

Dane Mattoon, sergeant of the Henderson Police Department's community relations bureau, said the department has four full-time DARE officers and another who teaches the program part-time for the department's youth services division. Henderson's DARE officers generally spend about three days a week teaching DARE programs. When not working on DARE, the officers keep office hours and work on the other 35 or so programs the department's community relations division handles.

Mattoon's department also handles the Every 15 Minutes program. Mattoon said the program is basically "the next step of DARE for high school kids," though Every 15 Minutes isn't part of DARE.

Mattoon said the Henderson Police Department's DARE program currently reaches about 3,500 fifth-graders from 24 schools.

Though DARE has a middle school curriculum, Mattoon and Sharp said their departments simply don't have the funds to hire extra DARE officers. If the elementary and middle school programs can't be taught, DARE recommends teaching the elementary school students.

Mattoon said the Henderson Police Department teaches a 10-week version of the program. At the end of the program, students have a graduation ceremony and receive T-shirts and pins.

"We make as big a deal as we can about it to impress on them that it's not a waste of time," he said. "It was a big, substantial thing they did over the last 10 weeks."

Mattoon said it's hard to tell whether the program really keeps youngsters off drugs, but at least "we're putting the education out there, and we're hoping people hold on to it."

Though some might not, Mattoon said he's found many students do, and still remember their DARE officer in high school and beyond.

"They still feel positively toward that officer because they have that connection," he said.