The core program for DARE is taught to the students in both Elementary Schools by Lieutenant Michael Colwell, (Officer Mike). It is currently a 14 week program that covers Drug Abuse Resistance Education and much more. The students also learn about having good self-esteem, making good decisions, being assertive, how to resist peer pressure, how to choose and keep good friends, how to resolve conflicts without violence, and having role models who they can see and talk to every day. Officer Mike brings High School Role Model Students into the Elementary School classes for one of the lessons and that has become a big success. The students interact with each other during class, at lunch, and on the playground during recess. Many valuable lessons have been taught and learned during that week alone and it has become an exciting part of the program for both the High School Students and the Elementary aged students. The Point Pleasant Borough Rotary Club sponsors a big Self-Esteem Poster Contest every year that has become a staple of the core DARE program as well. The core DARE program is presented every year from January into May and Officer Mike is currently preparing lessons for the 2009-2010 school year and looking forward to returning after the Holidays.

The DARE program of the Point Pleasant Borough Police Department has become such a success that it has recently been expanded to encompass a follow-up program that is taught in the Memorial Middle School by Police Officer Chuck Ackerman. The middle school students know him as (Officer Ackerman) and his DARE lessons are taught over the course of the entire school year. Officer Ackerman instructs ¼ of the sixth grade class at a time, during each marking period. He instructs them in conjunction with their health awareness education teacher during that particular marking period. Officer Ackerman teaches DARE lessons that follow up and reinforce the lessons taught to them during the 5th grade core program from the Elementary Schools. He also teaches them new lessons that expand their awareness about Drugs, Alcohol, and Violence as they begin to enter their teenage years.

Chief Williams has also opened the doors of his department to any Boy Scout, Girl Scout, or other youth group wishing to take a tour of a Police Station. Officer Mike has been assigned to those duties and to date many tours have been given to the various youth organizations. This gives the children a chance to come into the world of a police officer.

It also gives the children an opportunity to meet and interact with the other members of the department and to see the different bureaus within it. They get to visit the patrol division, the dispatch center, the traffic safety bureau, the detective bureau, the administrative offices, and the court room. If they are lucky they sometimes get to visit personally with the Chief when he is in his office and on duty during the tour. To schedule a tour for your organization you can contact (Officer Mike), Lt. Michael Colwell at the police department.

During the fall just before Halloween and in the Spring just before Summer vacation, Officer Mike visits all of the Pre-Schools , Nursery Schools and Kindergarden classes in Point Pleasant Borough. During these visits Stranger Danger and Summer Safety Lessons are taught to the very young children of our community. These are valuable lessons that must be taught to the children of our community in order to safeguard them against certain evils that unfortunately exist in today’s world. By continuing to teach the children of our community at very young ages we hope to provide them with all of the knowledge and skills necessary to keep themselves safe when confronted by danger and to keep themselves out of risky situations when they have the need to make crucial decisions in their lives.

The latest addition to the Department’s DARE program is a retired Police Cruiser that has been restored and turned into a Dare Car to represent the program. The car is a 2001 Ford Crown Victoria that served the Department as a regular Patrol Vehicle for two years. The car was then donated back to the Police Department by Weisleader’s Ford and was restored and designed as the DARE CAR that it is today. This restoration was all done by donations from various businesses, organizations and from monies that were expended from the DARE program itself. All maintenance, repairs, and improvements are paid for by DARE monies that come to the program in the form of donations. The DARE Car officially went into service in August of 2007 as it entered The Point Pleasant Boro Rotary Club’s annual Car Show. The DARE Car took first place in that show and has gone on to win several other trophies at various Car Shows in the area. Among those trophies was a third place win in the annual N.J. State Car Show in Atlantic City in April of 2008. The Car’s most valuable service to the Department and the Community is how it helps to spread the word about the DARE program and how it helps to establish a bond between Law Enforcement Officers and the Children of our Community. The Car appears at various Community events such as Earth Day in the Park, Summerfest, Festival in the Park, The annual Thanksgiving pep rally and Bonfire, and the annual Fireman’s Safety Fair at Ocean Road School. It also participates in the annual Memorial Day and Halloween Parades and makes weekly appearances at the Ocean Road and Nellie Bennett Elementary Schools while the DARE program is being taught. Finally, The DARE Car makes an annual appearance at Memorial Middle School’s Career Day and Officer Ackerman’s Kids vs. Cops Basketball Game. While school is out during the Summer the DARE Car stays active during the Point Pleasant Boro Police Department’s annual two week Summer Youth Camp.

The annual Kids vs. Cops Basketball Game is organized and supported by our DARE program and donations that are made from various businesses in our town. Middle School Dare Officer Charles Ackerman started the game six years ago as a fund raiser for the eighth grade class at Memorial Middle School. The game places the Point Pleasant Boro Police Department’s Officers on the court against the Boys and Girls from the eighth grade class. It is always a great night and is always very competitive. This game helps to create a bond between the Officers and the children who attend the Memorial Middle School. (Officer Mike) does some recruiting of the fifth grade Elementary School Students so that the Police Officers can have a cheering section on the night of the game. This also helps to introduce the fifth graders to the Middle School where they will be attending the following year. The monies that are raised by the game are always put to great use in support of the eighth grade class and its activities.

In Point Pleasant Boro the children of our Community continue to be among our top priorities as a Police Department and we promise to always strive to protect them and their futures.