Drug Abuse Resistance Education

Learning to say "No" to drugs and violence is the essence of D.A.R.E., an anti-drug program developed in Los Angeles in 1983.  The program is co-sponsored in Ohio by the State Attorney General, The Ohio Association of Chiefs of Police and the Ohio Department of Education.  It is presented by local law enforcement in school districts across the state.  The Oregon Police Division began using the program in 1991.

 D.A.R.E. - Drug Abuse Resistance Education - uses uniformed officers to teach the curriculum, which aims to equip young people with the skills to resist negative peer pressure.  The instructors are experienced officers selected for their abilities in human relations and communications.  Training takes place at the Ohio Peace Officers Training Academy located in London, OH.

D.A.R.E. is also incorporated into the health curriculum in the two (2) Oregon middle schools.  The D.A.R.E. middle school program is offered in the seventh grade.  The closely related Violence Education and Gang Awareness program is presented in the sixth grade. These officers also visit the lower level grades throughout the year.

Officers in D.A.R.E. work closely with school resource officers and the Community Policing Unit.  For more Information about D.A.R.E. contact Officer M. Poddany @ (419) 698-7186

The Oregon Community and Family Coalition is an anti-drug coalition made up of businesses, organizations, and individuals representing various sectors of the community who are dedicated to Oregon, Ohio area youth.  Their mission is to reduce substance abuse among youth, promote positive choices, and strengthen families.

Resource Officer Program

During the 1998-1999 school year, the Oregon Board of Education and the City of Oregon Police Division joined together to support the new School Resource Officer Program.  Outside of the DARE Program police officers have only periodically spent time in the middle schools and the high school.  As part of this Community Oriented Policing initiative, the school resource officers will devote much of their time developing positive relationships with the students in the middle schools and the high school.
 
The resource officers engage in a variety of activities designed to increase the understanding between the students, the faculty and the law enforcement community.

Activities include:

• Mentoring
• Role Modeling
• Supplementary Education
• Intervention
• Safety Planning
• School Incident Management

All of the Officers' activities are designed to reinforce and compliment the goals of the school.

Duties and responsibilities of the school resource officer:

• Be a liaison between the school system and other community agencies, with the goal to provide the best care and direction for these young adults.
• Assist in investigations in the school.
• Assist the principal and staff with strategies and plans for dealing with dangerous situations (large fights or reports of weapons in the school).
• To speak with groups associated with the school on a wide variety of relevant issues.
• Interact with students during class changes, the lunch hour, during breaks striving to foster a good relationship between the students and law enforcement.
• Coordinate students entering and exiting school property each day.
• The school resource officer will use the utmost discretion in divulging any confidential information provided by teachers, school staff, officers and students.
• Disciplining students for infractions of school rules is the responsibility of school officials.  The school resource officer's role is to assist the administration in these matters. In the event that the misconduct is a criminal violation, the school resource officer will take action if needed.
• The school resource officer is first and foremost a police officer.  He will at all times wear clothing that readily identifies him as a police officer.