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Lincoln Police Department hosts
6th annual Illinois D.A.R.E. officer training
[February 21, 2026]
During the weeks of February 9th
through February 20th, 2026, the Lincoln Police Department hosted
its 6th Annual Illinois D.A.R.E. Officer Training Program. The
Department supports this program and its efforts to assist young
people with sound judgement and decision making, including but not
limited to resisting drug and alcohol abuse.
Currently, the Lincoln Police Department employs 4 certified D.A.R.E.
Officers. Our most senior D.A.R.E. Officer, Deputy Chief Christy
Fruge, also serves the D.A.R.E. America program as the Illinois
D.A.R.E. Officer Coordinator. Deputy Chief Fruge is tasked with
many responsibilities through this assignment, encompassing the
entire State of Illinois. With Deputy Chief Fruge’s selection as
the Illinois D.A.R.E. Officer Coordinator, Lincoln became the
training hub for the D.A.R.E. program statewide.
The 1st annual Illinois D.A.R.E. Officer Training program took place
at the Lincoln Police Department in 2020. That year, 18 Officers
came from all over the United States to attend the two week training
program in Lincoln. For the last 6 years, Officers have come from
all over the United States to attend D.A.R.E. certification at the
Lincoln Police Department. This year, 20 attendants came from
Illinois, Nebraska, and Michigan and represented a mix of Municipal
Police Departments and County Sheriff’s Offices.
D.A.R.E. has curriculums designed for children as young as
kindergarten, going all the way through the high school years. The
D.A.R.E. program studies trends which allow Officers to adjust to
specific problems within their communities. For example, when
opioids became a problem across the United States, D.A.R.E. America
created a curriculum specifically for that issue. D.A.R.E. still
uses the opioid curriculum, but also utilizes others, such as the
dangers of vaping curriculum, along with a curriculum called More
Than Sad, which helps young people who are dealing with suicidal
thoughts.
Every curriculum D.A.R.E. offers is science and evidence based to be
effective. Recently a study was conducted over 3 years by UNC on how
effective the D.A.R.E. program is.
The training staff, who join Deputy Chief Fruge with instructing the
new D.A.R.E. Officer candidates, consist of 1 Facilitator and 2
Mentors (team leader) from the Addison, Illinois Police Department,
1 from St. Clair County, Illinois Sheriff’s Department, Deputy Chief
Fruge, and an educator from Iowa. The role of the educator is to
teach the D.A.R.E. Officer candidates to step out of "investigation
mode" and into a teaching mode. The goal is to transfer the minds of
the Officers from interrogation to communication.
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This is not an
easy process, and it takes time and practice. Much is asked of
these officers. They must meet certain benchmarks in order to
move forward in the class. If those benchmarks are not met, they
"deselect" officers from the program. D.A.R.E. only allow
officers that are the best fit for a classroom to become D.A.R.E.
Officers.
As a final benchmark
in the training program, these Officers teach a course of
instruction at one of our local schools. Chester-East Lincoln
School welcomed the new D.A.R.E. Officers, who taught their first
blocks of instruction to C.E.L. students, then finished their day
with a game of kickball.
The Lincoln Police Department is proud of our D.A.R.E Officers and
of the strides the D.A.R.E. Program is taking to positively affect
the lives of the children in our communities not only in Illinois,
but nationwide. The Lincoln Police Department and our D.A.R.E.
representatives want to thank the staff and students of Chester-East
Lincoln School for hosting us and allowing the new D.A.R.E. Officers
a place to learn and practice new skills and create positive
relationships with the students and faculty.
Joseph Meister
Chief of Police
Lincoln Police Department
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