Pubdate: Thu, 02 Aug 2001
Source: Duncan News Leader (CN BC)
Copyright: 2001 Duncan News Leader
Contact:  http://www.duncannewsleader.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1314
Author: Erin Fletcher

DOUBTS EXPRESSED ABOUT DRUG-SNIFFING DOG

Having a drug-sniffing dog search local schools may be an ineffective 
approach to controlling drug use, according to local parents. School 
District 79 is presently developing a procedure and protocol formula 
to have Gator - the RCMP North Cowichan/Duncan detachment's drug dog 
- - come into local middle and high schools and search for illegal 
substances next year.

Board chair Wilma Rowbottom said superintendent Brian Hoole will draw 
up a protocol to be completed and submitted to the board for approval 
by this fall.

But some concerns have been raised about the effectiveness of locker 
searches on the drug presence in the schools.

Shelley Bailey, president of the Cowichan Valley District Parents 
Advisory Council, wants to see parents involved in developing the 
protocol. She is concerned about the imperfect nature of the 
situation. "Lockers are not secure and good kids could get framed for 
things," said Bailey.

She agrees drugs don't belong in schools, but wants to know what 
would happen if a child tries one joint.

"We don't want one stupid mistake to follow them. We need to make 
sure there is a proper investigation," she said.

Const. Al Hamilton, the dog handler for the North Cowichan/Duncan 
canine division, agrees with Bailey's concerns over the imperfect 
nature of the random drug searches.

He said he knows drugs are present in schools, as they have always 
been, but he is uncertain of how effective locker searches will be on 
stopping drug trafficking and usage.

He said students won't necessarily keep their drugs in lockers 
because if they are trying to conduct a deal, it is easier to sell 
away from the locker to avoid creating a scene in the busy hallway.

Drugs also leave a scent residue the dog can smell weeks later.

While doing a locker search he and Gator may come across a locker 
where a marijuana joint had been sitting a week earlier. But when the 
dog smells the drug and tells Const. Hamilton where to search, he'll 
discover nothing, much to the chagrin of the student involved.

To have a dog search out banks and banks of lockers will be both a 
time consuming and exhausting experience.

"I'm not burning him out for something that is probably not there," 
said Const. Hamilton. "The dogs work brutally hard for you. (But drug 
sniffing) is major work for the dog. It takes a high-energy dog." "Is 
this the most appropriate thing to be doing?" asked Bailey. 
"Principals already have the right to go into students' lockers at 
anytime. The drug dog could just be overkill or a way of keeping the 
dog working."
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MAP posted-by: Josh Sutcliffe