D.A.R.E., Drug Abuse Resistance Education, was developed by the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles Unified School District in 1983 to prevent drug abuse among students and youth. The D.A.R.E program is overwhelmingly successful and is now taught by uniformed law enforcement officers in all 50 states and in over two dozen foreign countries. The State of Pennsylvania currently has over 780 certified D.A.R.E. Officers. In August 2004, Officer Robert T. Detweiler of the West Whiteland Township Police was named the Pennsylvania D.A.R.E. Officer of the year.
Officer Detweiler has taught the D.A.R.E program in West Whiteland Township since 2000. The program focuses on the fifth grade students in two of the Township's elementary schools.
The program was modified in 2004. Currently, ten - 45 minute lessons are taught to the fifth grade students. The emphasis of D.A.R.E. is to help student recognize and resist pressures that may influence them to experiment with drugs or alcohol. The program also focuses on the student's feelings related to self-esteem, decision making, consequences of actions, managing stress, and positive alternatives to drug and alcohol use.
The students participate through classroom exercises, group discussions, and role-playing. West Whiteland Township Police Department looks forward to a continuing a relationship within the Collegium Charter School and Saints Philip and James Catholic School, as well as providing a positive influence in the Community.