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WOODBINE, Ga. - The Camden County Sheriff's Department says an expensive sports car is the way to get children's attention about the dangers of illegal drugs.
The south Georgia county's new Drug Awareness Resistance Education car is a 2001 Dodge Viper RT/10 capable of going nearly 200 mph.
The cost: $93,000.
"With television and video games, it's hard to impress kids and grab their attention. The whole point of this car is to grab the kids' attention," said Lt. William Terrell, the sheriff's office spokesman. "Once we have their attention, then we can focus on getting them to listen and show them how to resist peer pressure to use drugs and alcohol."
Others, however, wonder whether the car, which recently won a national contest in Las Vegas, Nev., for its custom paint job, cost too much.
Camden County Commissioner Bob Becker called the win "a publicity gimmick" that gives the department a lot of notoriety.
"But does it improve law enforcement?" he asked. "I would hope it would. I have my doubts."
The sports car was purchased with forfeited drug money from seizures made by deputies on Interstate 95, Lt. Terrell said.
"It didn't cost the taxpayers anything. It all was paid for entirely with confiscated drug money," he said. "And if we can reach even just one kid with this car, then it's worth it."
The car itself was $78,000. Additional costs were a trailer, $5,500; paint job, $5,000; custom embroidery, $300; navigation system, $1,000; and a police package including blue lights, siren and radio, $3,000.
The department's D.A.R.E. officer, Capt. David Gregory, acknowledged that a few people have complained about the money spent on the car, but he said that most people recognize its drawing power and the importance of the anti-drug message.
"The sheriff's response has been you can't put a price on a child's life," he said.
And the D.A.R.E. car may indeed save some lives and improve others, Capt. Gregory said. Although some studies have asserted that D.A.R.E. programs are not cost-effective, Capt. Gregory says he has anecdotal evidence that contradicts the surveys.
"I've seen some kids in troubled environments come out of that clean. If I had to sum it up in one word, it's hope," he said.
The south Georgia county's new Drug Awareness Resistance Education car is a 2001 Dodge Viper RT/10 capable of going nearly 200 mph.
The cost: $93,000.
"With television and video games, it's hard to impress kids and grab their attention. The whole point of this car is to grab the kids' attention," said Lt. William Terrell, the sheriff's office spokesman. "Once we have their attention, then we can focus on getting them to listen and show them how to resist peer pressure to use drugs and alcohol."
Others, however, wonder whether the car, which recently won a national contest in Las Vegas, Nev., for its custom paint job, cost too much.
Camden County Commissioner Bob Becker called the win "a publicity gimmick" that gives the department a lot of notoriety.
"But does it improve law enforcement?" he asked. "I would hope it would. I have my doubts."
The sports car was purchased with forfeited drug money from seizures made by deputies on Interstate 95, Lt. Terrell said.
"It didn't cost the taxpayers anything. It all was paid for entirely with confiscated drug money," he said. "And if we can reach even just one kid with this car, then it's worth it."
The car itself was $78,000. Additional costs were a trailer, $5,500; paint job, $5,000; custom embroidery, $300; navigation system, $1,000; and a police package including blue lights, siren and radio, $3,000.
The department's D.A.R.E. officer, Capt. David Gregory, acknowledged that a few people have complained about the money spent on the car, but he said that most people recognize its drawing power and the importance of the anti-drug message.
"The sheriff's response has been you can't put a price on a child's life," he said.
And the D.A.R.E. car may indeed save some lives and improve others, Capt. Gregory said. Although some studies have asserted that D.A.R.E. programs are not cost-effective, Capt. Gregory says he has anecdotal evidence that contradicts the surveys.
"I've seen some kids in troubled environments come out of that clean. If I had to sum it up in one word, it's hope," he said.
