The new strategy has been proven to avert drug use, increase awareness about substance abuse and provide refusal skills, said Broomfield Sgt. While teaching the dangers of drug use is central to the multitude of anti-drug programs, they provide something even greater than simple lectures. The police officers are messengers who help bring together teachers, students and parents to form a bond early in children's lives. To get a whole education, you have to learn life skills as well as the basic academics. One of the underlying outcomes of the school officer program is that children begin to feel safe at school.
Education is enhanced by their presence.
Broomfield has four school resource officers assigned to Westlake Middle School, Broomfield High School and several elementary schools. In addition to teaching D.A.R.E. material, officers partner with teachers to inform students about violence, parenting and crime scene investigations. But those courses fall outside the range of the D.A.R.E. program, which is part of the reason officers have scrutinized its efficacy over the last couple of years. The officers teaching it were not given any latitude for altering it for the needs of that classroom. Those are excuses many communities have when they are planning to eliminate the D.A.R.E. program, said Richard Infranca, the state administrator for D.A.R.E. Colorado.