D.A.R.E. (Drug Awareness Resistance Education) program was founded in 1983 in Los Angeles and has proven so successful that it is now being implemented in nearly 80 % of our nations school districts and more than 54 countries around the world. D.A.R.E. is a police officer-led series of classroom lessons that teaches children from kindergarten through the 12th grade how to resist peer pressure and live productive drug and violence free lives. The D.A.R.E. program is designed to be taught by police officers whose training and experience gave then the background needed to answer the sophisticated questions often posed by young students about crime and drugs. Prior to entering the D.A.R.E. program, officers undergo 80 hours of special training in are as such as child development, classroom management, teaching techniques, and communications skills.

D.A.R.E. is universally viewed as an internationally recognized model of community policing.

D.A.R.E. "humanizes" the police officer in that young people can begin to relate to officers as people.

D.A.R.E. permits students to see officers in a helping role, not just an enforcement role.

D.A.R.E. opens lines of communication between law enforcement and youth.

D.A.R.E. Officers can serve as conduits to provide information beyond drug-related topics.

D.A.R.E. opens dialogue between the school, police, and parents to deal with other issues.