1. D.A.R.E. seeks to provide students with a knowledge base on the effects of drug abuse that go beyond the physical ramifications and extend to emotional, social and economic aspects of life.
   
   
2. D.A.R.E. aims to build decision-making and problem solving skills and strategies to help students make informed decisions and resist drug use, peer pressure and violence.
   
   
3. D.A.R.E. provides students with alternatives to drug use.

D.A.R.E. is instinctive in its approach in that specially trained, uniformed police officers conduct the lessons in the classroom. By employing law enforcement officers to teach the curriculum, D.A.R.E. brings the first hand accounts of the officers' experiences from the street to the classroom. It is this unique aspect of the program that not only intrigues students but also helps to foster a positive relationship between the students and police officers. While the officers actually conduct the D.A.R.E. lesions, a licensed teacher is required to be present in the classroom. That teacher is expected to reinforce the D.A.R.E. material by integrating its objectives into the general curriculum for that particular grade level.

• D.A.R.E. reduces substance use - the more D.A.R.E. is reinforced, the more effective it is in reducing substance abuse.
  
  
• D.A.R.E. reduces negative peer pressure - substance use by close friends has been found to be the strongest predictor of substance use among youth.
  
  
• D.A.R.E. improves communication between young people and their parents about issues like drug use.
  
  
• D.A.R.E. improves youth's image of law enforcement.
  
  
• Parents overwhelmingly support D.A.R.E.
  
  
• Educators recommend D.A.R.E. be continued in schools.
  
  
• D.A.R.E. reinforces and is compatible with other prevention activities.
  
  
• D.A.R.E. meets all prevention principles - D.A.R.E. met all standards defined by the National Institute of Drug Abuse, including pro-social bonding to school and community, appropriate years of intervention, and targeting the "most critical" age groups.