local community groups and law enforcement agencies such as Middlesex County Chiefs of Police Association.
The Middlesex County Sheriff’s Department has also supported the reimplementation of Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) — a program created in the 80s to combat rising drug use — and hosted sessions to students in sixth and fifth grades.
County Sheriff Mildred Scott just announced that Middlesex will have a summer program for these students that will, for the first time in the country, include complete DARE training sessions with junior police academy lessons.
“Monroe and Middlesex have drug awareness programs like DARE that do events in our community and schools,” Dipierro added. “[But] parents should talk to their children about drugs and keep them aware.”