In 1992 Collin County joined the D.A.R.E. family. D.A.R.E. stands for Drug Abuse Resistance Education. The D.A.R.E. Program started in 1983 in Los Angeles, California. It teaches fifth and sixth grade students how to deal with the pressures and dangers of drug use. The curriculum is 17 weeks long and is ended with a culmination ceremony.

Our program started with nine small city school districts: Anna, Melissa, Celina, Prosper, Blue Ridge, Farmersville, Princeton, Community, Lovejoy. Approximately 650 fifth and sixth grade students were taught the first year. We had one deputy teaching full time and one deputy teaching part time. Our first year of D.A.R.E. was an overwhelming success.

Our second and subsequent years have shown growth in the program. Celina Police Department took over the program in their city. Our county seat's school district, McKinney, joined the program in 1993. With the increase in the number of students a second full time D.A.R.E. Instructor was added. Our student count increased to about 1300 per year.

Our D.A.R.E. Officers have two unique vehicles to drive. Our Eddie Bauer Bronco was seized by our narcotics section and was awarded to the D.A.R.E. Program. It has since been marked with the D.A.R.E. Logo and "This vehicle was seized from a drug dealer by the Collin County Sheriff's Office Narcotics Unit." The "D.A.R.E. Van" is a nationally recognized 1992 GMC Safari Van. Its unique design has won distinction from citizens and D.A.R.E. Officers alike. It was selected as the third place winner for D.A.R.E. vehicles in Law Enforcement Magazine's annual International Police Vehicle Contest. In 1995, our van won the van division of the National D.A.R.E. Officers' Association Conference Car Show.

As the twenty first century approaches, we believe this is one way to conquer the problem of drug abuse in our country. Proactive approaches, like D.A.R.E., will help overcome this cancer on our society.