Lessons from D.A.R.E.: The Complicated Relationship Between Research and Practice

摘要

This paper is part of a multi-year effort undertaken by the Bureau of Justice Assistance and the Center for Court Innovation to stimulate new thinking about criminal justice innovation. By examining the trials of past reform efforts, this investigation seeks to encourage a more open and honest dialogue about the criminal justice system and what it can realistically be expected to achieve-and to help tomorrow's innovators avoid the mistakes of yesterday's. Since its inception in Los Angeles in 1983, Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) has become one of the most well-known and widespread crime prevention programs in the country. D.A.R.E.'s model is relatively straightforward. Police officers are trained to lead educational sessions in local schools that are designed to help students resist peer pressure and live drug-free lives. The program's reach is nothing short of remarkable: D.A.R.E. has been responsible for training hundreds of thousands of police officers and educating millions of children. The program has spread to 43 different countries. In recognition of this, every year for the last 18 years, four consecutive presidents have set aside a day in April as 'National D.A.R.E. Day.' Alongside this impressive track record, however, there exists a counter-narrative. This story is written not by the administrators of D.A.R.E. but by scholars who have studied the program. To date, there have been more than 30 evaluations of the program that have documented negligible long-term impacts on teen drug use. One intensive, six-year study even found that the program increased drug use among suburban teens by a small amount. Despite these setbacks, D.A.R.E. is alive and well, taught in about 75 percent of school districts across the country. Over 15,000 police officers participate as D.A.R.E.