D.A.R.E. America History

Facing unparalleled drug abuse among youth in the 1970’s and early 1980’s, visionary Los Angeles Police Chief Daryl Gates and the Los Angeles Unified School District in 1983 launched an unprecedented and innovative substance abuse prevention education program – Drug Abuse Resistance Education. D.A.R.E. America was incorporated in January 1989 as a non-profit organization for the purpose of developing and implementing drug abuse resistance and safety and prevention educational programs worldwide. Local D.A.R.E. programs currently operate in all 50 states and U.S. territories, and 46 other countries

Success of D.A.R.E. America and the D.A.R.E. kiR program

D.A.R.E.’s success was seen in classrooms and homes leading to rapid growth and expansion over the decades.  Today, through the leadership of the dedicated D.A.R.E. America Board of Directors, and the tireless commitment and hard work of tens of thousands of officers and educators throughout America and around the globe, D.A.R.E America strives each day to achieve its vital mission… to fulfil a vision.

“A world in which students everywhere are empowered to respect others and choose to lead lives free from violence, substance abuse and other dangerous behaviours”

– D.A.R.E. International

With the tremendous success of the D.A.R.E. program in the United States in the 1980’s, other countries facing significant drug abuse problems among their youth approached D.A.R.E. America for guidance and assistance.  Beginning at first with orientations and then slowly advising schools and law enforcement agencies in countries that included Canada, the United Kingdom, and several South American and Central American countries, D.A.R.E. America has continued to be the “go to” organization that is repeatedly called upon to fill the void, and help country after country develop its own D.A.R.E. program.

By the end of 2010, more than 9,000 international law enforcement officers had been trained in 9 D.A.R.E. America training centres throughout the world and are now teaching the D.A.R.E. curriculum in 13 languages to hundreds of thousands of school children in 44 different countries.