Sadly, often times those in my occupation are some of their own worse enemies, however one good thing about DARE is that it allows kids to see a cop with a human face. It might not say too much about the preventative drug use by this "program", but it does allow positive contact.

I've never been one, but I can't tell people how many times I've seen kids come up to cops that had been DARE officers and still see that connection.

Also, one of the saddest things I've seen in my time is how kids go through stages when it comes to cops; especially inner city and trouble kids. For years as a child, most children love cops. Then they hit an age where they are stand-offish and then the stage where they learn to really dislike cops. And to add to it, many of these kids are so attention starved it breaks your heart. Often times these kids will just surround cops that show just a minimal amount of attention to them. It's amazing to see and then it's gone.