Stafford Township Police Officer Marisa Lawrence graduated from DARE Officer Training on March 23.

Officer Lawrence, a ten year veteran of the department, is currently assigned to the Patrol Division.

She is the fourth active member of the Stafford Township Police Department who is qualified to instruct the DARE program.

As Ocean County continues battling the drug epidemic, having another member of the DARE program will serve as a benefit for education prevention efforts and trying to curb the narcotics problems once and for all.

Officer Marisa Lawrence (Photo: Stafford Township Police Department)
Officer Marisa Lawrence (Photo: Stafford Township Police Department)
loading...

The DARE training is presented by D.A.R.E. America International and was held in Bridgewater, NJ over a two week period.

DARE training consists of almost 100 hours, designed to prepare Officers with a knowledge of the "Keeping it Real" curriculum.

The Stafford Township Police Department has been presenting DARE to 5th grade students in the Stafford School District, Southern Regional School District and All Saints Regional Catholic School for nearly thirty years.

Stafford Police strives to save lives with programs such as: DARE, On-POINT, Blue HART, #NotEvenOnce (which is also in Manchester and Berkeley Township's) and their Drug Enforcement Unit.

More from WOBM:

More From Beach Radio