Maysville Police Department Community Programs

Character Counts Program

In 2000, the Maysville Police Department adopted the Character Counts Program, replacing the D.A.R.E. (Drug and Alcohol Resistance Education) program that had been in use by the department for 13 years. The change occurred because we believed the new program would offer a better variety of ways to reach the hearts and minds of young people.

Character Counts is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, nonsectarian character education framework that teaches the “Six Pillars of Character”: trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring and citizenship. The Character Counts program is considered to be one of the nations most thorough and multi-faceted assessments of character education.

Maysville Police Officer Chris Neal teaches the Character Counts program to third and fifth grade classes and couldn’t be happier with the results. “We believed it would not only send a message about the abuse of drugs and alcohol, but would teach children to make ethical decisions based on the Six Pillars of Character,” Officer Neal said.
Neal said he, along with school officials, have seen a vast improvement in behavior with the children who have participated in the class, as well as a cut in crime and drug abuse. Neal also believes the program has helped to bridge the gap between the schools and the Police.

Adopt-A-School Program

In furthering this relationship, Maysville Police Officers have begun practicing the “Adopt-A-School” program. Each Officer selects a school to visit at least once per shift. This allows students to become familiar with the police and to feel comfortable around them. Officer Neal said this program has also helped by allowing children who may not currently be participating in the Character Counts program to have the opportunity to interact with Police Officers. “The police have solved many crimes with the help of children”, Neal said.

Area school and Maysville Police Department personnel are very happy with the progress these programs have made and the relationships that have been built as a result. During the 2004-2005 school year Officer Neal hopes to begin teaching Character Counts to high school students in hopes of better preparing them for life after high school.

For more information on the Character Counts program, contact Officer Neal at cneal@maysvillepolice.com.

For more information on the Adopt-A-School program, contact kbutcher@maysvillepolice.com.