33rd D.A.R.E. Officer Training (PROERD) Santa Catarina – Brazil

The graduation of the 33rd class of instructors of the Educational Program of Resistance to Drugs and Violence (Proerd/D.A.R.E.) of the Military Police of Santa Catarina was conducted on the 28th of September 2023. The event took place at the Golden Hotel and Events in San Jose.

Since the inception of the program, which has graduated over 1,653,591 students throughout Santa Catarina, now has 35 new instructors. The course took place from September17-28, 2023, with a workload of 94 hours/class.

In all, the police officers have graduated and will join the 63 exclusive instructors and 200 employees of Proerd who work throughout the state. Among the graduates, 13 had already participated in the program as children, as students of the program.

The presiding commission of the ceremony was the Chief of the General Staff of the PMSC, Colonel Jailson Aurelio Franzen, who in the act represented the general commander of the PMSC, Colonel Aurélio José Pelozato da Rosa, the commander of the 11th Regional Command of Military Police, Colonel Cleber Pires, the head of the Secretariat of Institutional Programs, Lieutenant Colonel Naíma Huk Amarante, and the president of the State Council of Narcotics (Conen), Fernando Henrique da Silveira. Also participating in the event other military, civilian and family members of the trainees.

Annually, approximately 80,000 students are taught per year in the four curricula applied by the program. In 2023, 796 schools are being served, with 37,119 Santa Catarina graduates from Proerd/D.A.R.E. in the 5th grade, 7th grade and K-4 students, components that enable graduated students to make safe and healthy decisions.

The head of the Institutional Programs, Lieutenant Colonel Naíma Huk Amarante, stated “PROERD this year celebrates 25 years of existence in Santa Catarina and, in these 25 years, 25% of the population of Santa Catarina has already participated in at least one of the Proerd curricula applied by PMSC. We teach children to be safer, healthier and more responsible.”

In his speech, the Chief of the General Staff of the PMSC, Colonel Jailson Aurelio Franzen, shared his experience with the new graduates because he has also served as an instructor of Proerd. “The program is a key role in the training and decision-making of our children and adolescents. The over one million number of students graduated by Proerd, shows that the Military Police is placing a huge part of their resources into prevention and community relations, making the collaboration with the best rates in the country in public order,” concluded the colonel.

The Proerd
The Educational Program for Resistance to Drugs and Violence, Proerd, was designed to prevent the use and trafficking of drugs and all forms of violence, whether physical or psychological. It was implemented in Santa Catarina in 1998. The program is coordinated by the Military Police.

Police officers receive specific pedagogical training to teach in public and private schools throughout the state. The focus is on children and adolescents in the school phase. The initiative seeks to raise awareness of the problem of drugs and violence. The program caters to children and young people, from five to 15 years of age.

Proerd is based on the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.), created by Dr. Ruth Rich in partnership with the Los Angeles Police Department in 1983.