Village of Pewaukee Police Department DARE program
Officer Jeff Lenius 262-691-5671
The Village of Pewaukee Police Department has been involved in the instruction of the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) program since the fall of 1989. Over the past 19 years, thousands of school age children have had an opportunity to develop a positive relationship with the department and its D.A.R.E. instructors. D.A.R.E. is much more than a simple drug program; it is an outreach program designed to foster guiding principles for our youth to follow. D.A.R.E. brings a positive role model into the classrooms in a uniform. Young children in 5th grade establish a relationship with their D.A.R.E. officer that can last many years after graduation.
D.A.R.E. recognizes that we need to accomplish defined objectives to work toward our goal of drug free youth. We must build a lasting relationship with young people, based on trust and respect. We must instruct with the most up to date information as accurately as possible. Our D.A.R.E. officer assists our youth in decision making, self esteem issues, how to say 'no', and alternatives to alcohol, tobacco and other drug use. As a police agency, we recognize that our young people are our future leaders. We are humbled to have an opportunity to enter the school classrooms at a time when we can have a positive influence on the children in our community.
After the Village Board removed funding for the program due to budgetary constraints in 2002, a local businessman, Mr. Kent Loehrke of Mortgage Data Management Corporation, stepped forward and donated $4,000.00 to continue the 5th grade program. Mr. Loehrke has indicated a willingness to continue to fund the D.A.R.E. program in the future as he sees the value in continuing to foster good relationships with the youth in our community as well as instruct children on the dangers of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs.
For the past several years the D.A.R.E. program has been instructed by Officer Jeff Lenius. At the spring 2009 graduation ceremony, we proudly presented 176 fifth graders D.A.R.E. certificates. We have now presented over 2,973 fifth grade and 1,328 eighth grade certificates to D.A.R.E. graduates.
