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D.A.R.E. was founded in 1983 in Los Angeles and has proven so successful that it is now being implemented in 75 percent of our nation's school districts and in more than 43 countries around the world. D.A.R.E. is a police officer-led series of classroom lessons that teaches children from kindergarten through 12th grade how to resist peer pressure and live productive drug and violence-free lives.

The D.A.R.E program began in Lee’s Summit in 1991. Two officers were assigned to teach the program in the city’s nine elementary schools. With the expansive growth in the city since that time, the D.A.R.E. Unit has also seen growth. It now includes four full time officers teaching the D.A.R.E. curriculum in 21 elementary schools and three middle schools.

Officers teach students in second, fourth and sixth grade in elementary and seventh grade at the middle school level. Each year approximately 4000 elementary students and 1300 middle school students receive the training.

In addition to the normal D.A.R.E. lessons, D.A.R.E. officers make countless appearances at community events and teach safety lessons throughout the community to children of all ages.