Col. Jirasak Meesattham,
deputy commander of the general staff division at the Narcotics
Suppression Bureau, tells a D.A.R.E. meeting in Pattaya that the bureau
wants to recruit 3,276 more trainers by the end of 2015.
Jetsada Homklin
Thai authorities want to expand the Drug Abuse Resistance
Education program nationwide by next year.
Col. Jirasak Meesattham, deputy commander of the general staff division
at the Narcotics Suppression Bureau, told a D.A.R.E. meeting in Pattaya
that the bureau wants to recruit 3,276 more trainers to cover every
sixth-grade class in the country by the end of 2015.
Officers would come from Provincial Police regions 1-9, the Southern
Border Province Bureau and the Border Patrol Police. The bureau is also
discussing the allowance for D.A.R.E teachers and expenses for teaching
materials.
The 2014 budget has enabled the bureau to train 1,457 more D.A.R.E
teachers, increasing the number to 6,198 nationwide.
D.A.R.E., founded in 1983 in the United States, came to Thailand in 1999
and works to give kids the skills they need to avoid involvement in
drugs, gangs, and violence.
To prepare for teaching the D.A.R.E. program in schools, police officers
undergo 80 hours of training in areas such as child development,
classroom management, teaching techniques, and communication skills.
Another 40 hours of additional training are provided to D.A.R.E.
instructors to prepare them to teach the high school curriculum.
Lessons aim to give children the skills needed to recognize and resist
the subtle and overt pressures that cause them to experiment with drugs
or become involved in gangs or violent activities.
