The primary responsibilities of the Youth Section are to instruct the D.A.R.E. program in the city's schools and to investigate criminal complaints where juveniles are the victims or offenders.

D.A.R.E, or Drug Abuse Resistance Education, is a 17-week program designed for elementary school students at the 5th grade level. In addition to instructing this program, the youth officers teach Pre-DARE to 4th grade students, and present Child Safety, Stranger Awareness, and Dangers of Alcohol and Drugs programs to students in Kindergarten through 4th grade.

As part of a relatively new program, one youth officer is assigned to Dover High School and teaches grades 9-12 about drugs, alcohol, violence, and peer pressure and also instructs Driver Education students about traffic laws and DUI. Another program available to high school students is the Student Ride-Along program, which allows high school students to ride with a patrol officer for a day to experience first hand what police work is like.

In addition to the educational services described above, the youth officers conduct tours of the station, and present programs about drugs and alcohol to youth groups such as the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts. They also present programs for parents about child safety and identification and offer fingerprinting for children.

The most important function of the Youth Officer's job is the investigation of criminal complaints. They investigate crimes where a child is the victim of abuse and/or neglect and also where the juvenile has been accused of committing a criminal act. These crimes can range from loitering to assault and sexual abuse.

You can contact the Youth Officers at (302) 736-7135