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Sheriff
Lanteigne honored for work
on
keeping city schools safe
The
Virginian-Pilot
(left
to right) Charlie Parsons, CEO DARE America ; Sheriff Paul
Lanteigne; and DEA Deputy Administrator, Michele Leonhart
Virginia Beach Sheriff
Paul Lanteigne recently drew top honors for leading his department's
effort to prevent drugs and violence in Virginia Beach schools.
Lanteigne was named DEA/DARE Law Enforcement Executive of the Year
and was honored at the Drug Enforcement Administration and Drug
Abuse Resistance Education national training conference in Orlando,
Fla., in August.
The sheriff also brought home a $1,000 grant to be used for the
office's DARE program.
The accolade came on the heels of another award. Over the summer,
the Virginia Beach Sheriff's Office was named one of the 25 Best
Places to Work in Hampton Roads by Inside Business journal.
The sheriff's office was the only government entity so named.
"Both are awards are pleasant surprises," said Lanteigne.
"They are also validation of all the hard work the professional
men and women in the department do on a daily basis."
Officials at DARE cited Lanteigne's contributions to students at
the Beach, attention to substance abuse prevention, and to the department's
work within the community .
The sheriff's office has coordinated this city's DARE programs since
the early 1990s. The curriculum is taught by sheriff's deputies.
"The program focuses on drug education, but it is really much
more than that," said Lanteigne. "The focal point
of DARE is to try to teach children to make good decisions, whether
that's with drugs or anything else. We address citizenship, right
and wrong, good decision making and standing up for yourself."
The program is geared to fourth-graders, but DARE deputies do visitations
at other grade levels while within the schools.
Paula Miller, sheriff's office public information officer, said
DARE instructors are in 67 public, private and parochial elementary
schools in Virginia Beach. There are 11 deputies assigned to the
program, which takes about a half-million dollars to execute annually.
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