By Leroy Smith
[www.inewsguyana.com] – Residents of Linden and other areas in the Police ‘E’ Division have been expressing a hungry need for the Guyana Police Force to broaden its Drug Abuse Resistance Education Program (DARE), according to ‘E’ Division Commander Superintendent Calvin Brutus.
The Guyana Police Force under the leadership of Commissioner Seelall Persaud has adopted the DARE Program as a policy initiative which is being rolled out in all police divisions across the country.
Speaking with iNews Commander Brutus said that in addition to the visiting of schools and youth groups to conduct the DARE Program they also have a one month program on television in collaboration with the National Communications Network where security tips, the laws pertaining to offences and other tips are shared with the members of the public.
At the moment the police in the division are targeting five schools for the DARE Program and the focus is primarily for students in 3rd and 4th forms while some attention is also given to 5th form students on the request of the Headteachers.
Of recent, the program has been extended to the Parent Teachers Associations of a few of the school and this was on the request of the Headteachers again, according to Brutus. He said that the argument was raised that the students are exposed to the training and lectures but when they return home they end up in the same environment which to some extend diminishes the real objective of the program.
The Commander said that the entire region has been expressing satisfaction with the program and have been asking for it not only to be extended to schools and PTA bodies. He said that the requested was accepted because the police realized that it would not have been making sense if the investment of time was being spent on educating the children who would have parents who do not understand the importance of the program and as such would display a lack of interest and their children’s obsession to grasp the teachings.
The Division has also been extending the DARE Program to scout groups and other youth groups according to Brutus who said that while it is not part of the initial strategy the police finds that it is working and has been bearing success.
