Pubdate: Fri, 21 Sep 2007 Source: Moorpark Acorn (CA) Copyright: 2007 J.Bee Publications Contact: http://www.moorparkacorn.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4561 Author: Sylvie Belmond Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/dare.htm (D.A.R.E.) NEW DARE OFFICER HOPES TO EMPOWER CHILDREN TO MAKE GOOD CHOICES The success of law enforcement depends on prevention, according to Dep. Chris Love, Moorpark's new Drug Abuse Resistance Education officer. The same people get arrested for drug charges over and over, so the war on drugs is futile unless it's fought before children are tempted to use narcotics, said Love. He was the DARE officer in Thousand Oaks before coming to Moorpark. DARE helps children deal with peer pressure and avoid temptation, Love said. Love seeks to empower Moorpark fifth graders to make safe and healthy choices. "I want to teach the kids about the dangers of drugs before they reach the upper grade levels," he said. As the father of three teenagers, Love stays up-to-date with recent trends in public schools, he said, because his children tell him about things they see and hear. "We don't claim to reach every student, but I know we continue to reach a small population that needs our guidance," said Love. Many students, teachers and parents have told him, he said, that DARE has had a positive effect on them. The program was cancelled in Thousand Oaks when that city opted to pay for three high school resource officers instead of the DARE program. It was also in jeopardy of being dropped in Moorpark because of the cost, but city officials opted to fund it for another year, along with the resource officer position at the high school, despite the financial constraints. Many school districts started to implement new programs like Project ALERT, which is taught by school staff instead of law enforcement officers. It replaces DARE and saves money, but it's not as effective, according to Love. Additional programs should supplement DARE, not replace it, Love said. DARE officials are working on a survey that would substantiate its effectiveness because the program has received some recent negative publicity. Love, however, believes that DARE does work for some kids. "The amount of drugs that flow into this country in relation to law enforcements efforts to fight them is like standing in the middle of river with your hands outstretched in an attempt to stop the flow of the river," Love said. Reducing the demand for drugs is the best way to fight the problem and it must happen before the onset of addiction, he said. In addition to teaching the DARE curriculum, Love plans to teach Internet safety to students in Moorpark, using a power point presentation that he's created. He also wants to help students understand the negative impacts of vandalism, to reduce this type of crime in Moorpark. "Dep. Love has a lot of street experience which is what you need to relate to the students in class," said Jeff Matson, captain of the Moorpark Police Department. The city subcontracts with Ventura County Sheriff's Department for law enforcement services. Love has been with the department for 13 years. He worked in the courts and detention facilities and became a jail training officer. He was then assigned to patrol in Thousand Oaks and was promoted to field training officer after eight years. Having received 40 hours of crisis intervention training, Love could handle cases involving developmentally disabled and mentally ill people. Love graduated from Pierce College and attended Moorpark College and Cal State Northridge, where he prepared himself for a career in law enforcement by taking criminal justice courses. He now lives in Simi Valley with his wife of 17 years, and their three children who are 16, 14 and 11 years old. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake