Adults of a certain age may remember McGruff the Crime Dog best. The animated bloodhound in a trench coat warned children about the dangers of using drugs in a series of both gritty and cheery public service announcements on TV in the 1980s and 1990s. McGruff was as frank about stranger danger and child abductions, once portraying the near-kidnapping of a little girl in pigtails in an ad: "If she gets into that car, you may be looking at Jenny for the last time." But perhaps most memorable is McGruff's persistent calls to "Take A Bite Out Of Crime."
Now, the Trump administration has ended federal funding for a program that in recent years worked to bring McGruff into present-day efforts to protect young people from harm caused by fentanyl and counterfeit prescription pills. Advocates fear any cuts to public education drug programs threaten to reverse progress in the 21st century war on drugs.
McGruff is still fighting crime but his messaging has shifted from the days of "Users are Losers" singalongs in the park. In 2020, the National Crime Prevention Council and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, which is within the Commerce Department, announced a McGruff revamp and the crime dog's new campaign, Go For Real. The partnership focused on raising awareness of the dangers of pills laced with fentanyl and counterfeit goods.
Council Executive Director Paul DelPonte says that while the nearly $2 million cut may be modest by government standards, losing Go For Real will have an outsize impact.
"The work is vitally important and the results can make an impact. In this case, we're really talking a life-and-death impact and saving lives," DelPonte told NPR.
These days, McGruff takes to social media to warn kids to "Think Again" about buying pills online. The crime dog is also still featured in radio and video PSAs and school curriculum. Police departments and other law enforcement agencies around the country also don McGruff costumes at public safety events like National Night Out.
Since the government ordered the National Crime Prevention Council to immediately stop work on the campaign in February, the nonprofit says it has adjusted plans and timetables. It moved up the launch of McGruff's True Crime Prevention Podcast in the hopes of generating income. But DelPonte says it won't be able to create a new McGruff PSA this year even with donated airtime. The council also had abruptly cut short government-funded research on how kids think while using social media.
Drop in drug deaths
Drug deaths among young people have dropped by nearly half in recent years, according to the most recent federal data compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other federal agencies. According to provisional CDC data, fatal overdoses fell to 16,690 people under age 35 last year from more than 31,000 in 2021.
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DelPonte worries those gains could be undone if more anti-drug programs are cut.
"The administration has put a lot of emphasis on fighting fentanyl at the U.S.-Mexican border," he said. "That's just one component of the fentanyl crisis. There are many others and they all deserve and need equal attention and they're not getting that right now."
The Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, has been working to cut the size of the federal government and spending by slashing agencies and programs. The Patent and Trademark Office declined to comment to NPR about the funding cut.
Previously, the Department of Justice partnered with the council and McGruff. DelPonte says government support of programs like Go For Real has been waning for many years.
"We do believe the last administration could've done more. We believe everyone can do more," he said.
Steps to curb illegal fentanyl
President Trump signed the HALT Fentanyl Act into law in July. The law permanently classifies fentanyl-related substances, like heroin, as a Schedule I drug under the Controlled Substances Act. Standing beside families that lost loved ones to fentanyl, Trump described the law as "delivering another defeat for the savage drug smugglers and criminals and the cartels."
U.S. Sens. Bill Cassidy, R-La., Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., and Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., introduced the bipartisan legislation that requires stricter punishments for fentanyl-related substances.
Kelly, who represents a border state where fentanyl enters the country from Mexico, told NPR the administration's decision to cut Go For Real is hypocritical of Trump's tough stance on fentanyl at the borders.
"I did not expect McGruff to get DOGEd. This president talks about fentanyl coming across the border all the time. And this fentanyl crisis is killing people in my state but across the country," Kelly said. "We need tools to deal with this and one of those tools is a public education campaign."
Kelly also introduced the bipartisan Youth Substance Use Prevention and Awareness Act with Sens. Chris Coons, D-Del., and Thom Tillis, R-N.C., in May. The legislation would fund PSA campaigns to help young people understand the dangers of drug use.
The effectiveness of some anti-drug programs is questioned
Over the years, experts have questioned the effectiveness of some anti-drug campaigns like D.A.R.E.'s "Just Say No" in the 1980s and 1990s. Former first lady Nancy Reagan championed the phrase and it became the rallying cry of the country's war on drugs during that period. But some research has shown that a more complex approach is required to effectively make a difference in preventing drug abuse among young people. In later years, D.A.R.E. revised its program.
DelPonte says McGruff has evolved and Go For Real was getting through to young people. His organization measures effectiveness partly by using data on the potential reach of its PSAs and other content. The National Crime Prevention Council also works closely with families affected by the fentanyl crisis by sharing their stories and advocating on their behalf.
"We've seen tremendous success," he said. "I think for a minute it's important that people put themselves in the shoes of one of these parents who lost a teenager to fentanyl and social media harms. Parents have a tough job. And any parent of a teenager will tell you they have a really tough job."
DelPonte says McGruff will continue doing his part to "Take A Bite Out Of Crime." The National Crime Prevention Council hopes private donors will continue to step forward.
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