 |
Niagara County Sheriff's Department
|
|
Niagara County Sheriff's Department
|
D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) is a collaborative effort by DARE certified law enforcement officers, educators, students, parents, and the community to offer an educational program in the classroom to prevent or reduce drug abuse and violence among children and youth. The emphasis of the core program (grades 5-6) is to help students recognize and resist the many direct and subtle pressures that influence them to experiment with alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, inhalants, or other drugs or to engage in violence.
The DARE program as presented by the Niagara County Sheriff's Department offers preventive strategies to enhance those protective factors - especially bonding to the family, school, and community - which appear to foster the development of resiliency in young people who may be at risk for substance abuse or other problem behaviors. Researchers have identified certain protective and social bonding factors in the family, school, and community which may foster resiliency in young people, in other words, the capacity of young people for healthy, independent growth in spite of adverse conditions. These strategies focus on the development of social competence, communication skills, self-esteem, empathy, decision making, conflict resolution, sense of purpose and independence, and positive alternative activities to drug abuse and other destructive behaviors.
The program content for DARE is organized into seventeen 45 minute lessons to be taught by a specially trained law enforcement officer with suggested extended activities to be integrated into other instruction by the classroom teacher. The Niagara County Sheriff's Department currently maintains two full time DARE officers along with one part time officer to serve the more than 1700 5th and 6th grade students in Niagara County. The elementary curriculum is presented in all of the primary buildings in the Barker, Lewiston-Porter, Newfane, Niagara-Wheatfield, Royalton-Hartland, Starpoint, and Wilson school districts. In addition to all of the public schools in Niagara County, DARE is also taught to 5th and 6th grade students in the following private schools: Stella Niagara Education Park, St. Peter's Lutheran (Walmore Rd.), St. John's Lutheran, Holy Ghost Lutheran, St. Peter's Lutheran (N. Ridge), Desales Catholic School, and Sacred Heart Villa.
The Niagara County Sheriff's Department DARE division in addition to classroom instruction, also offers speaking engagements to interested groups and clubs. DARE skate nights are held monthly at SKATELAND on Lincoln Ave., Lockport, NY. Skateland sponsors disadvantaged youths to the New York State Sheriff's Summer Camp in Penn Yann, New York, and many other services which seek to enhance the community involvement aspect of the DARE program. These additional activities are filled on an officer availability status.
The Niagara County Sheriff's Department DARE division is currently staffed by Dep. Kelly Giles-Preisch and Sgt. Timothy Nolan. The office number is (716) 438-3310. Although these officers are frequently out of the office, all calls are returned as soon as possible and our best efforts are given in order to assist the people and organizations of Niagara County.
Niagara
County Sheriff's Department
5526 Niagara Street Ext., P.O. Box 496
Lockport, New York 14095-0496
(716) 438-3393, Fax (716) 438-3302
