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81-591: The Gaston County Police Department is a law enforcement agency of Gaston County, North Carolina , United States. It is 1 of only two County Police police agencies within the State of North Carolina (the other being the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department ) The Gaston County Police Department has the primary responsibility for the enforcement of North Carolina state laws and Gaston County ordinances in unincorporated areas of

162-416: A branch line leads south to Crowders . CSX rail lines pass through the northwestern and northeastern corners of Gaston County. In the northwest, a line between Lincolnton and Shelby passes through Cherryville . In the northeast, a line between Lincolnton and Charlotte passes through Stanley and Mount Holly . Progressive Rail operates state-owned trackage between Gastonia and Mount Holly with

243-408: A common intuitive judgment that the program should work. Funding for D.A.R.E. was greatly reduced in the 2000s because of its poor performance at reducing drug use, particularly following a General Accounting Office report in 2003 which found "no significant differences in illicit drug use" caused by D.A.R.E. After decades of antagonism toward D.A.R.E. because of its ineffectiveness, the curriculum

324-769: A grant from the National Institute of Justice to the University of Maryland resulted in a report to the NIJ, which among other statements, concluded that "D.A.R.E. does not work to reduce substance use." D.A.R.E. expanded and modified the social competency development area of its curriculum in response to the report. Research by Dr. Dennis Rosenbaum in 1998 found that D.A.R.E. graduates were more likely than others to drink alcohol , smoke tobacco and use illegal drugs . Psychologist Dr. William Colson asserted in 1998 that D.A.R.E. increased drug awareness so that "as they get

405-634: A joint are all equally dangerous. For that matter, so is snorting a few lines of cocaine." D.A.R.E. "isn't really education. It's indoctrination." The article also stated, "Part of what makes DARE so popular is that participants get lots of freebies. There are fluorescent yellow pens with the DARE logo, tiny DARE dolls, bumper stickers, graduation certificates, DARE banners for school auditoriums, DARE rulers, pennants, DARE coloring books, and T-shirts for all DARE graduates." D.A.R.E. has failed to fact check some articles on their website, promoting one news piece that

486-456: A little older, they (students) become very curious about these drugs they've learned about from police officers." The scientific research evidence in 1998 indicated that the officers were unsuccessful in preventing the increased awareness and curiosity from being translated into illegal use. The evidence suggested that, by exposing young impressionable children to drugs, the program was, in fact, encouraging and nurturing drug use. Studies funded by

567-540: A major revision of its curriculum. The U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) identified alternative start-up regional programs, none of which have longevity nor have they been subjected to intense scrutiny. The D.A.R.E. program is consistent with the "zero-tolerance orthodoxy of current U.S. drug control policy." According to researcher D. M. Gorman of the Rutgers University Center of Alcohol Studies , it supports

648-461: A median income of $ 33,542 versus $ 23,876 for females. The per capita income for the county was $ 19,225. About 8.30% of families and 10.90% of the population were below the poverty line , including 14.50% of those under age 18 and 11.10% of those age 65 or over. Gaston County is governed by a seven-member Board of Commissioners. Two members are elected from Gaston Township and one each from the other five townships of Gaston County. They are elected on

729-405: A partisan basis to four-year staggered terms. Those that file for a particular seat must live in the township. However, the vote is countywide or "at-large." The offices of Sheriff, District Attorney, Clerk of Superior Court, and Register of Deeds are also elected offices, elected on a countywide, partisan basis. Gaston County currently is divided into forty-six (46) voting precincts. The county

810-421: A patrol car for one shift to see first-hand what officers see and hear, and what they are trained to do under a variety of circumstances. Officer Randy Michael "Moose" Pendleton ended his watch on Monday, 5 February 1979, when his cruiser was broadsided at a high speed by a felon who was fleeing other officers. The felon was later apprehended after Officer Pendleton had succumbed to his injuries. A plaque stands in

891-418: A plaintiff requests assignment to a magistrate and the amount in controversy is $ 5,000 or less. There is no jury and usually no lawyers. A person who loses in small claims court may appeal for a trial by jury before a judge in district court. Magistrates are appointed for two-year terms by the senior resident superior court judge upon nomination of the clerk of superior court. In recent years, voters in most of

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972-404: A population of more than 85,000 residents. In addition, the department employs 90 civilians. It has an operating budget of 11.9 million dollars . The Gaston County Police Department is organized into four divisions, each of which is headed by an assistant chief or director, who is responsible to the chief of police. The Community Policing Division is composed primarily of uniformed officers and

1053-666: A press release titled "Pro-drug Groups Behind Attack on Prevention Programs; DARE Seen as Target as Mayors' Conference Called to Combat Legalization Threat," D.A.R.E. asserted that pro-drug legalization individuals and groups were behind criticisms of the program, which were portrayed as based on "vested interests" and "to support various individual personal agendas at the expense of our children." D.A.R.E. has attacked critics for allegedly being motivated by their financial self-interest in programs that compete with D.A.R.E. It has charged that "they are setting out to find ways to attack our programs and are misusing science to do it. The bottom line

1134-614: A result, children sometimes confide the names of people they suspect are illegally using drugs. Researchers at Indiana University , commissioned by Indiana school officials in 1992, found that those who completed the D.A.R.E. program subsequently had significantly higher rates of hallucinogenic drug use than those not exposed to the program. In 1994, three RTI International scientists evaluated eight previous quantitative analyses on D.A.R.E.'s efficacy that were found to meet their requirements for rigor. The researchers found that D.A.R.E.'s long-term effect could not be determined, because

1215-585: A seasonal basis from June until October at Lake Wylie and Mountain Island Lake . It is responsible of enforcing boating laws, conducting boating safety inspections, removing navigational hazards, answering calls for service, enforcing shoreline laws, and providing assistance to boaters and other governmental agencies. The unit consists of four full-time and three part-time officers, and uses a 22-foot boat and two jet-skis for patrol. The Investigative and Support Services Division, overseen by an assistant chief,

1296-602: A spur extending to Belmont. Charlotte-Douglas International Airport is a major, full-service airport with passenger flights. It is across the Catawba River in Mecklenburg County in Charlotte . The city of Gastonia owns and operates Gastonia Municipal Airport , which is a general aviation airport with a single runway, Runway 3/21, an asphalt runway that is 3,779 feet in length. Piedmont Lithium

1377-413: A student 'makes a disclosure related to drug use,' the officer should report the information to further authorities, both school and police. This apparently applies whether the 'drug use' was legal or illegal, harmless or harmful. In a number of communities around the country, students have been enlisted by the D.A.R.E. officer as informants against their parents." Circa 1995, parents compared D.A.R.E. to

1458-517: Is King's Pinnacle , a rocky monadnock which sharply rises over 800 feet (240 m) above the city of Gastonia . King's Pinnacle rises 1,690 feet (520 m) above sea level, and is part of Crowders Mountain State Park . As of the 2020 census , there were 227,943 people, 85,705 households, and 55,868 families residing in the county. At the 2004 census estimate , there were 194,459 people, 73,936 households, and 53,307 families residing in

1539-516: Is a community college located in Dallas offering associate degree, Certificate, and Diploma programs. Belmont Abbey College is a Roman Catholic Liberal Arts College located in Belmont . The Gaston County Public Library has 10 branches spread throughout the county. Gaston County's most significant natural heritage sites are distributed across the county. They range from Crowders Mountain in

1620-523: Is a mining company currently in the process of proving economic mineral recovery of lithium in Gaston County. After five years of surface prospecting , the company began drilling many sample cores in 2021 across 2,300 acres (930 ha) of land it owns or has mineral rights to the county proving economic viability of mining lithium for the boom in battery demand to support electric vehicle and other uses. Public education in Gaston County

1701-538: Is a science museum and planetarium located in Gastonia that features both permanent and touring exhibits. Crowder's Mountain State Park is noted for its resident raptors and sheer vertical cliffs which drop 150 feet (46 m). From Crowders Mountain, the highest point in Gaston County, views stretch for more than 20 miles (32 km). The U.S. National Whitewater Center is a recreation and training facility. Set among 1,300 acres (5.3 km ) of wooded land along

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1782-504: Is administered by a full-time professional County Manager. Gaston County is a member of the regional Centralina Council of Governments . North Carolina has a unified statewide and state-operated court system, called the General Court of Justice. It consists of three divisions: appellate courts, superior courts, and district courts. In Gaston County, there is also a small claims Court. Small claims court handles civil cases where

1863-1284: Is administered by the Gaston County Schools public school system. The system is governed by the nine-member Gaston County Board of Education which sets policy and establishes guidelines for school operations. Board members are elected on a nonpartisan, county wide basis, with seven representatives chosen from the six townships and two members selected at-large. Gaston County Schools has 54 public schools, including 9 high schools, 11 middle schools, 32 elementary schools, one alternative school (middle and high school age), and one separate school (Webb Street School in Gastonia) serving students ages 3 to 22 with moderate to severe disabilities. Gaston County has four charter schools : Community Public Charter School (K-7) in Stanley, Ridgeview Charter School (K–4) in Gastonia, Piedmont Community Charter School (K–12) in Gastonia, and Mountain Island Charter School (K–12) in Mount Holly. There are two colleges in Gaston County. Gaston College

1944-418: Is an eleven-week educational program for Gaston County residents in an academy setting. It is intended to acquaint them with law enforcement's role in the criminal justice system and to provide an understanding of the tasks police officers face in their daily work. The instructors are officers and personnel from the department who teach in their own areas of expertise. The sessions begin with the presentation of

2025-609: Is commanded by a captain. The officers assigned to each zone are further divided into squads (supervised by a sergeant) that cover rotating 12-hour shifts. The four patrol zones are: The Community Policing Division also has two specialized patrol units: the K-9 Unit and the Marine Enforcement Unit. The K-9 Unit consists of six handler and dog teams responsible for responding to crimes in progress, performing street-level drug interdiction, and assisting all divisions of

2106-510: Is composed of several specialized units: The Communications Division is a multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional dispatch center providing 24-hour coverage of emergency 911 calls and radio transmissions for Gaston County. It is composed of 53 employees led by a director. The unit is charged with maintaining and operating the computer-aided dispatch system for police, fire, and medical calls, as well as receiving both emergency and non-emergency calls for service. The Animal Care and Enforcement Division

2187-791: Is included in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC Metropolitan Statistical Area , which had an estimated population of 2,805,115 in 2023. The county is located in the southern Piedmont region. Of North Carolina's 100 counties, Gaston County ranks 74th in size, consisting of approximately 364 square miles (940 km ), and is tenth in population. The county has fifteen incorporated towns. In addition to fifteen incorporated towns and cities, there are several unincorporated communities such as Hardin, Lucia, Crowders Mountain, Sunnyside, Alexis, Tryon, and North Belmont. The earliest European settlers of Gaston County were principally Scots Irish , Pennsylvania Dutch , and English . In

2268-425: Is responsible for controlling and preventing crime through regular patrols, answering calls for service, apprehending suspected offenders, enforcing criminal and traffic laws, conducting preliminary investigations, and working with the community to solve neighborhood crime problems. The division is overseen by an assistant chief. The officers are assigned to one of four geographical areas (known as zones), each of which

2349-425: Is responsible for enforcing animal-related North Carolina laws and Gaston County ordinances. It is meant to protect county citizens from dangerous animals and to ensure the proper care and treatment of animals. The animal shelter is led by an administrator and the enforcement side is led by a police captain. The Unit is composed of 22 employees including both sworn and non-sworn personnel. The Citizens' Police Academy

2430-418: Is that they don't want police officers to do the work because they want it for themselves." Critics have also been dismissed as being jealous of D.A.R.E.'s success. Ronald J. Brogan, New York City's D.A.R.E. fundraiser and spokesman, said in 1999 "If you take German for 17 weeks, you're not going to speak German. The critics say the effect dissipates over the years. No shit, Sherlock." The article in which he

2511-744: Is the oldest extant structure in Gaston County. Located on the Dallas-Stanley Highway above the South Fork Catawba River, it was built around 1760 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places . The Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden covers 110 acres (0.45 km ) in the South Point area of Gaston County, on South New Hope Road. The Gaston County Museum is located in the town of Dallas, North Carolina . The Schiele Museum of Natural History

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2592-585: Is the site of the old WBTV television transmitter. It was from this site that the first commercial television signal in North Carolina was broadcast, when WBTV signed on the air in 1949. The tower remains on the mountain today, but is no longer in use as WBTV's primary transmitter. It is used by NWS for its NOAA Weather Radio transmission signal. Townships are administrative divisions of unincorporated county land and do not have any government function. Drug Abuse Resistance Education The program

2673-673: The Broad River . Both the Catawba and Broad Rivers are in the greater Santee River basin. The Catawba forms the eastern border of the county and much of the central part of the county is in the drainage basin of its right tributary, the South Fork Catawba River. The county is located in the Piedmont region of central North Carolina, which consists of gently rolling terrain frequently broken by hills, river and creek valleys, and low, isolated mountain ridges. The highest point in Gaston County

2754-530: The University of Kentucky concluded that "continued enthusiasm [for DARE] shows Americans' stubborn resistance to apply science to drug policy." Marsha Rosenbaum, who headed the West Coast office of the Lindesmith Center , a drug policy reform organization, provided an opinion for a 1999 Village Voice article, "In D.A.R.E.'s worldview, Marlboro Light cigarettes, Bacardi rum, and a drag from

2835-661: The late Weimar Republic , in its installation of "uniformed, sometimes armed, agents of the state in classrooms to tell children what their attitudes ought to be, and to obtain information about family home life which may be of interest to the state". In 1997, The Future of Freedom Foundation asserted that, "In the official D.A.R.E. Implementation Guide, police officers are advised to be alert for signs of children who have relatives who use drugs. D.A.R.E. officers are first and foremost police officers and thus are duty-bound to follow up leads that might come to their attention through inadvertent or indiscreet comments by young children." As

2916-742: The "organization spent $ 41,000 to try to prevent widespread distribution of the RTI report and started legal action aimed at squelching the study". The director of publication of the American Journal of Public Health told USA Today that "DARE has tried to interfere with the publication of this. They tried to intimidate us." In 1995, a report to the California Department of Education by Joel Brown, stated that none of California's drug education programs worked, including D.A.R.E.: "California's drug education programs, D.A.R.E. being

2997-628: The 1750s, Dutch settler James Kuykendall with Robert Leeper, and others constructed a Fort at the Point at the junction of the Catawba and South Fork Rivers. The fort was built because of ongoing hostilities with the Cherokee , but it was apparently never attacked. Tensions between the settlers and the Native American inhabitants (primarily of the Catawba tribe ) were eased considerably when

3078-524: The 34 known sites containing bigleaf magnolias in North Carolina, 29 are in Gaston County. Two sites are important because they provide habitat for the bog turtle ( Glyptemys muhlenbergii ). The bog turtle is the single most significant rare animal species surviving in Gaston County. Crowders Mountain State Park is the largest natural heritage site in the county. It covers over 3,000 acres (12 km ) of topographically, botanically, and zoologically diverse land. Six natural plant communities are found in

3159-544: The Catawba River, the multiuse facility has a climbing center, mountain-biking trails and running trails. Christmas Town USA - McAdenville, North Carolina - Each December, hundreds of thousands of twinkling lights turn this small mill town into a spectacular holiday display. Visitors stroll down Main Street surrounded by the sights and sounds of Christmas. Spencer Mountain , which is located in central Gaston County,

3240-403: The D.A.R.E. program in the category of "Ineffective Primary Prevention Programs". The U.S. General Accounting Office concluded in 2003 that the program was sometimes counterproductive in some populations, with those who graduated from D.A.R.E. later having higher than average rates of drug use (a boomerang effect ). In March 2007, the D.A.R.E. program was placed on a list of treatments that have

3321-470: The D.A.R.E. program was changed in the state to remove cannabis messages from their year 5 curriculum, arguing "research has found that teaching children about drugs with which they have never heard of or have no real life understanding may stimulate their interest or curiosity about the substance." T-shirts and other merchandise reading "D.A.R.E. To Keep Kids Off Drugs" became popular as an ironic item in drug culture and other countercultures starting in

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3402-494: The Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden, supports a stand of Schweinitz's sunflower ( Helianthus schweinizii ), a federally endangered species. The Armstrong Ford site near Belmont is the only place in western North Carolina (and one of only two sites in the state) where magnolia vine ( Schisandra glabra ) has been found. The Hoyle Historic Homestead , with notable German-American construction features,

3483-459: The Department (as well as other agencies in the county and surrounding counties) by conducting specialized searches with trained law enforcement dogs. The searches include searches of houses and vehicles for illegal drugs, searches of buildings for suspects, and area searches for evidence and tracks of subjects that have run in an attempt to elude arrest. The Marine Enforcement Unit operates on

3564-548: The Lion. D.A.R.E. program materials from 1991 describe it as "a drug abuse prevention education program designed to equip elementary school children with skills for resisting peer pressure to experiment with tobacco, drugs, and alcohol." It was created as a part of the war on drugs in the United States, with the intention of reducing the demand for drugs through education that would make drug use unappealing. The program

3645-536: The National Institute of Justice in 1998, and the California Legislative Analyst's Office in 2000 also concluded that the program was ineffective. A ten-year study was completed by Donald R. Lynam and colleagues in 2006 involving one thousand D.A.R.E. graduates in an attempt to measure the effects of the program. After the ten-year period, no measurable effects were noted. The researchers compared levels of alcohol, cigarette, marijuana and

3726-448: The boundary dispute between North Carolina and South Carolina was settled in 1772, after which most of the Catawba settled on a reservation near Fort Mill, South Carolina . Most early farms in the area were small, cultivated primarily by white yeoman farmers of English ancestry. North Carolina's colonial policy restricted the size of land grants , and in Gaston County they tended to be about 400 acres (1.6 km ) each. One of

3807-484: The corresponding studies were "compromised by severe control group attrition or contamination". However, the study concluded that in the short-term "DARE imparts a large amount of information, but has little or no impact on students' drug use", and that much smaller, interactive programs were more effective. After the 1994 Research Triangle Institute study, an article in the Los Angeles Times stated that

3888-403: The county has a total area of 363.68 square miles (941.9 km ), of which 355.75 square miles (921.4 km ) is land and 7.93 square miles (20.5 km ) (2.18%) is water. It belongs to the southern Piedmont physiographic province . Most of Gaston County is in the drainage basin of the Catawba River , except for small areas along the western edge of the county which are in the basin of

3969-594: The county have favored Republicans, though Democrats retain some electoral strength in the city of Gastonia. Gaston County is served by Amtrak , with a stop in Gastonia . Freight rail service is provided by the Norfolk Southern Railway , CSX and Patriot Rail . The Norfork Southern main line passes from west to east across the county, passing through Kings Mountain , Bessemer City , Gastonia, Ranlo, Lowell, Cramerton and Belmont . From Gastonia,

4050-530: The county. The Gaston County Police Department is a separate agency from the Gaston County Sheriff's Office , which has the responsibilities of managing the county jail, protecting the county courthouse, serving civil and criminal documents, and pursuing and arresting fugitives from legal actions taken through the courts. The Gaston County Police Department employs 137 sworn officers who patrol an area of over 270 sq mi (700 km) with

4131-588: The county. Its thin soils are dominated by hickory species and it is also home to several smaller species such as Talinum teretifolium (fame flower), Sedum smallii (syn. Diamorpha smallii , Small's sedum), and Hypericum gentianoides (pineweed) that are found only in this type of habitat. A farm site contains an old growth forest dominated by beech, yellow poplar, oaks, and maples - some trees with diameters of nearly 3 feet (0.91 m). Another 25 sites are listed as being of local significance. Two of these are home to extremely rare plants. Catawba Cove, near

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4212-488: The county. Law enforcement within the incorporated municipalities of Gaston County is generally the primary responsibility of the police departments of the particular municipalities. However, the Gaston County Police Department is also the primary law enforcement agency for the incorporated cities of High Shoals and Spencer Mountain . They are also authorized to respond to calls in all areas of

4293-404: The county. The population density was 534 people per square mile (206 people/km ). There were 78,842 housing units at an average density of 221 units per square mile (85 units/km ). The racial makeup of the county was 83% White , 13.9% Black or African American , 0.3% Native American , 1% Asian , 0% Pacific Islander , 0.3% from other races , and 1% from two or more races. 3.00% of

4374-733: The department's philosophy toward community oriented policing, which encourages citizens to develop a sense of cooperation with police in the common goal of providing a safe and secure community for all citizens. Following sessions include classes on communications, community policing, property and evidence, patrol procedures, juvenile unit, repeat offenders, criminal investigations, school resource officers, drug abuse resistance education , records, criminal law, accreditation, training and employee development, crime analysis, special investigations, crime scenes, hazardous devices, victim assistance, emergency response teams, K-9, animal control, and environmental crimes. Members may, if they choose to do so, ride in

4455-487: The earliest grants in the area was given to Captain Samuel Cobrin, commander of a local militia company, on September 29, 1750. Gaston County was founded in 1846, partitioned from Lincoln County . It is named for William Gaston , a U.S. Representative from North Carolina and member of the state supreme court. Between 1845 and 1848, Gaston County experienced an industrial boom. During this three-year period,

4536-522: The early 2000s, funding for the program was greatly reduced. The program distributed t-shirts and other items branded with the D.A.R.E. logo and with anti-drug messages. These items were repurposed by drug culture as ironic statements starting in the 1990s. Its American headquarters is in Inglewood, California . D.A.R.E. expanded to the United Kingdom in 1995. The program's mascot is Daren

4617-641: The first three cotton mills in the county were established. Some sources claim that the first one was established by Thomas R. Tate on Mountain Island , near the present site of Duke Energy's Mountain Island Dam and Hydroelectric Station. Other sources say that the first mill was established by the Linebergers and others on the South Fork River near McAdenville . Most sources agree that among

4698-557: The first three mills in operation in the county was the Stowesville Mill, founded by Jasper Stowe and associates in the South Point Community south of Belmont . Gaston County still leads all other counties in the country both in the number of spindles in operation and in the number of bales of cotton consumed. The county seat moved from Dallas to Gastonia in 1911. According to the U.S. Census Bureau ,

4779-416: The high school level." In some circles, educators and administrators have admitted that D.A.R.E., in fact, potentially increased students' exposure and knowledge of unknown drugs and controlled substances, resulting in experimentation and consumption of narcotics at a much younger age. Criticism focused on failure and misuse of taxpayer dollars, with either ineffective or negative results state-wide. In 1998,

4860-437: The ideology and the "prevailing wisdom that exists among policy makers and politicians." It also claims to meet the needs of stake holders such as school districts, parents, and law enforcement agencies. "DARE America also has been very successful in marketing its program to the news media through a carefully orchestrated public relations campaign that highlights its popularity while downplaying criticism." Psychologists at

4941-548: The importance of grounding substance use prevention programs in their audiences' cultural attitudes, values, norms, and beliefs. The second study "evaluated onset of drug use across and within ethnic groups and the ideal times to intervene" finding "a double dose of intervention in elementary and middle school was no more effective than middle school intervention alone." Following the passing of Washington Initiative 502 that legalized cannabis consumption in Washington state,

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5022-409: The kids' homes" and that "a D.A.R.E. lesson [was] called 'The Three R's: Recognize, Resist, Report'", encouraging children to "tell friends, teachers or police if they find drugs at home." In addition, "D.A.R.E. officers are encouraged to put a 'D.A.R.E. Box' in every classroom, into which students may drop 'drug information' or questions under the pretense of anonymity. Officers are instructed that if

5103-444: The largest of them, simply don't work. More than 40 percent of the students told researchers they were 'not at all' influenced by drug educators or programs. Nearly 70 percent reported neutral to negative feelings about those delivering the anti-drug message. While only 10 percent of elementary students responded to drug education negatively or indifferently, this figure grew to 33 percent of middle school students and topped 90 percent at

5184-530: The main station of the Gaston County Police Department. He is also remembered at the North Carolina Law Enforcement Officers Memorial. Gaston County, North Carolina Gaston County is a county in the U.S. state of North Carolina . As of the 2020 census , the population was 227,943. The county seat is Gastonia . Dallas served as the original county seat from 1846 until 1911. Gaston County

5265-439: The park, and the area supports a diversity of wildlife species. Some animals documented in the park have not been documented elsewhere in the county. A second natural heritage site, Pinnacle Road, has recently been incorporated into the park. This site is most significant for the occurrence of dwarf juniper ( Juniperus communis ) along its ridgeline. The Stagecoach Road site is the largest and best preserved granitic outcrop in

5346-403: The population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There are 92,094 males and 98,271 females in Gaston County. Of these 39,492 are under 15, 23,082 are aged 16–24, 59,096 are aged 25–44, 44,710 are aged between 45–64 and 23,985 are 65 and over. The median age is 36.89 years. The median income for a household in the county was $ 39,482, and the median income for a family was $ 46,271. Males had

5427-642: The potential to cause harm in clients in the APS journal, Perspectives on Psychological Science . "The Social Construction of 'Evidence-Based' Drug Prevention Programs: A Reanalysis of Data from the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) Program," Evaluation Review, Vol. 33, No.4, 394–414 (2009). Studies by Dave Gorman and Carol Weiss argue that the D.A.R.E. program has been held to a higher standard than other youth drug prevention programs. Gorman writes, "what differentiates DARE from many of

5508-591: The program's height, it was in 75% of American school districts. It was funded by the federal government in the Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act of 1986 , which mentions D.A.R.E. by name. In 2002, D.A.R.E. had an annual budget of over $ 10 million. The curriculum consisted of lectures on the harmful consequences of drug and alcohol use, how to refuse drugs, building self-esteem and support networks, and alternatives to drugs. Curriculum also condemned graffiti and tattoos because they were considered to be

5589-427: The programs on evidence-based lists might not be the actual intervention but rather the manner in which data analysis is conducted, reported, and interpreted." Dennis M. Gorman and J. Charles Huber Jr. The U.S. Department of Education prohibits any of its funding to be used to support drug prevention programs that have not been able to demonstrate their effectiveness. Accordingly, D.A.R.E. America, in 2004, instituted

5670-462: The result of peer pressure. These lessons were derived from SMART, an anti-drug program under development at the University of Southern California , but they were adapted to be delivered by police officers instead of educators. Officers were also encouraged to spend time with students informally, such as playing basketball or chatting with students over lunch. Officers would sometimes arrive in sports cars that police had seized from drug dealers, which

5751-420: The results of peer pressure. A series of scientific studies in the 1990s and 2000s cast doubt on the effectiveness of D.A.R.E., with some studies concluding the program was harmful or counterproductive. Years after its effectiveness was cast into doubt, the program remained popular among politicians and many members of the public, in part because of a common intuition that the program ought to work. Eventually, in

5832-421: The southwest corner to sites east of Stanley and at the mouth of the South Fork Catawba River. Gaston County has twelve natural heritage sites listed as being of state or regional significance. Six of these are listed because of the presence of the bigleaf magnolia ( Magnolia macrophylla ). This magnificent plant has the largest simple leaf of any species in the temperate world, and one of the largest flowers. Of

5913-457: The strong public support for the program is a better indicator of its utility than scientific studies." In 2009, D.A.R.E. adopted the " keepin' it REAL" curriculum. Rather than solely focusing on the perils of alcohol and other drugs, keepin' it REAL developed a 10-lesson curriculum that included aspects of European American, Mexican American, and African American culture integrated with culturally based narration and performance. The program

5994-471: The use of illegal substances before the D.A.R.E. program (when the students were in sixth grade) with the post-D.A.R.E. levels (when they were 20 years old). Although there were some measured effects shortly after the program on the attitudes of the students towards drug use, these effects did not seem to carry on long-term. In 2001, the Surgeon General of the United States , David Satcher , placed

6075-521: Was satire , titled "Edible Marijuana Candies Kill 9 in Colorado, 12 at Coachella." D.A.R.E. America has generally dismissed many criticisms and independent studies of its program, labeling them false, misleading, or biased. "DARE has long dismissed criticism of its approach as flawed or the work of groups that favor decriminalization of drug use," according to the New York Times in 2001. In

6156-442: Was changed starting in 2009. The new program is called "Keepin' it REAL" and focuses less on lectures and more on interactive activities, such as practicing refusal and saying no to pressure. It is now less explicitly focused on opposition to drugs, with the broader aim of teaching good decision-making. Circa 2004, "[c]hildren [were] asked to submit to D.A.R.E. police officers sensitive written questionnaires that can easily refer to

6237-593: Was conducted by uniformed police officers who visited classrooms. The program was developed in 1983 on the initiative of Daryl Gates , chief of the Los Angeles Police Department , in collaboration with Harry Handler, superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District . A local program at first, D.A.R.E. spread rapidly in the 1980s. In 1988, Ronald Reagan proclaimed the first National D.A.R.E. Day. At

6318-552: Was developed by Penn State researchers, who evaluated its effectiveness, though critics contend the program does not implement a long-term evaluation system. In 2013, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration ranked its "readiness for dissemination" at 1.5 out of 4. Two field randomized controlled trials showed the effectiveness of the multicultural keepin' it REAL for reducing substance use across grade levels and ethnic/racial groups, which highlights

6399-437: Was intended to demonstrate that drugs lead to losing coveted possessions. Scientific studies cast doubt on the effectiveness of D.A.R.E. starting in the early 1990s, with many concluding that D.A.R.E. did nothing to reduce illicit drug use. One study found that D.A.R.E. students were actually more likely to use drugs. Yet the program remained popular among politicians and many members of the public for decades, in part because of

6480-512: Was most prominent in the 1980s and 1990s. At the height of its popularity, D.A.R.E. was found in 75% of American school districts and was funded by the US government. The program consists of police officers who make visits to elementary school classrooms, warning children that drugs are harmful and should be refused. D.A.R.E. sought to educate children on how to resist peer pressure to take drugs. It also denounced alcohol, tobacco, graffiti, and tattoos as

6561-455: Was quoted observed that "DARE officials say the solution to this problem is not less DARE but more of it, and they urge cities to teach DARE in middle and high school." One leader explained that "I don't have any statistics for you. Our strongest numbers are the numbers that don't show up." The 1998 University of Maryland report presented to the U.S. National Institute of Justice stated, "Officials of DARE America are often quoted as saying that

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