Metro might drop DARE program

Jen Lawson

Thursday, May 22, 2003 | 9:30 a.m.

The DARE program that preaches anti-drug messages to schoolchildren is one of several nonessential Metro Police-run programs that may be eliminated in order to save the department money, a Metro budget official said Wednesday.

The city and county voted Monday and Tuesday on their final 2003-2004 fiscal year budgets, and Metro will receive $352 million.

That's a 10.2 percent, or $32.5 million, increase over the previous year, but 9 percent of that amount is needed just to maintain the status quo, Sheriff Bill Young said. This leaves 1.2 percent, or $4.5 million, of extra money to pay for new officers and civilian employees.

Young had originally requested a funding increase of 25 percent over the previous year.

The increase in the new budget will cover the salaries of 46 additional officers, 12 new 911 call-takers, eight more dispatchers, seven more crime scene analysts and one new victim/witness coordinator, Metro's budget director Janelle Kraft said.

"We've tried not to cut any positions, but we will be reviewing programs individually to see if we will be able to continue funding them," she said. "The sheriff may decide to reprioritize those and direct funds to different areas."

The DARE program, which encourages fifth graders not to abuse drugs, is an example of a program that could be cut, Kraft said. Metro could save $2 million, and the 18 officers in the program could be reassigned.

The Police Athletic League of Southern Nevada could also be cut, Kraft said. The league provides free sports activities and programs to youths at the Twitchell Community Center and the Whitney Recreation Center.

The number of officers assigned to the Homeless Evaluation Liaison Program is being reduced from four to two, but a program that is training five patrol officers to work with the mentally ill is expected to compensate for the loss, department officials have said.

Young's goal is to keep the growth of Metro proportionate with population growth in the jurisdiction. The department needs two officers for every 1,000 residents, he said. Currently it has 1.7 officers per 1,000.

Kraft said that ratio is shrinking.

"We should be at about 1.6 at the end of next year," she said. "We are still going backwards."