DARE: Promoting the Police
The program DARE \u2014 in which police officers stepped into the role of teacher to warn 5th and 6th graders away from drugs \u2014 is an object of humor today. But historian Max Felker-Kantor argues that we should take DARE seriously. He posits that the program, which at its height brought police into 75% of U.S. school districts, was ultimately about burnishing the reputation of law enforcement in the midst of the abuses of the war on drugs, and it served to normalize having cops in schools.\nResources:\nMax Felker-Kantor, DARE to Say No: Policing and the War on Drugs in Schools University of North Carolina Press, 2024\nThe post DARE: Promoting the Police appeared first on KPFA.