Pubdate: Sat, 04 Dec 2004 Source: Lethbridge Herald (CN AB) Copyright: 2004 The Lethbridge Herald Contact: http://www.mysouthernalberta.com/leth/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/239 Author: Sherri Gallant Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth) DRUG-SNIFFING SCHOOL DOGS RAISING A STINK Human Rights Issue Raised As More High Schools Employ Such Strategy They almost never find any contraband, but drug-sniffing dogs are likely to remain a reality in a number of southern Alberta's rural schools for the deterrent effect they seem to have. Discussion flared up across western Canada this week over the human rights aspect of drug-dog searches, after news broke that a school board in B.C.'s Fraser Valley has drafted a policy to allow them in their schools. Three rural schools near Winnipeg made headlines during the week as well, when they reported hiring a drug-sniffing dog to sus out their students' lockers, and Grande Prairie schools are using police dogs. In Alberta, there are two ways to conduct locker searches with dogs -- by using RCMP canine sniffers or hiring private companies. Many schools around the south have opted for one choice or the another, except public and Catholic schools in Lethbridge, which have opted against the practice. If dope is found in a locker search, it's up to the prinicipal whether it's dealt with internally or through criminal charges. Murray Armstrong owns High West Canine Services based in Fort Macleod, a company many schools south of Calgary have been hiring. "We generally use them a couple of times a year," said Todd Ojala, principal at Vauxhall High School. "And we've had assemblies where the dogs come in and we show the students how they work. They'll hide something somewhere in the gym and then the dog will find it." With their amazing senses of smell and hearing, dogs can be trained to detect drugs and bombs, predict seizures and storms and even sniff out cancer cells in urine samples. In a school situation, dogs are non-threatening and don't show bias. Vauxhall students are told at the start of the school year that they can expect the dogs to show up on occasion. When they do, a lockdown procedure is followed while Ojala accompanies the handler and the dog through the halls. The animal is trained to sit down when it picks up the scent of something suspicious. At that point, the principal decides whether or not the student should be present when the locker is searched. Almost always, they are. "The lockers are school property, and the students know that, but what's inside belongs to them and I think they should be there if we're going to open it up," Ojala says. "We haven't actually found drugs. But the dog will sometimes smell something and sit down." Some people refer to that as a "false positive," but Ojala and Armstrong say if the dog "indicates" even though no drugs are found, it's usually because the aroma lingers on clothing and other possessions. Max, Armstrong's black lab, is also used at schools in Taber, Milk River, Claresholm, Fort Macleod and in other communities. He can detect even minute amounts of heroin, cocaine, marijuana, methamphetamines and magic mushrooms. "Our dogs have 85 to 90 per cent efficiency on any given day," Armstrong says. "And most of the time I think if something is missed it's because I miss a cue from the dog. He may indicate with a head movement, so I have to watch him very closely. It's more preventative than anything, because kids don't usually keep it in their lockers." Lethbridge RCMP Corp. Grant Hignell and his German shepherd Zigro are often called out to other area schools. They only go on requested by the school and only if they're available. "Policy has to be set by the school and the school district, a clear policy of zero tolerance for narcotics in the school or on school property," Hignell says. "It has to be clearly articulated to students and I generally ask that the schools tell the parents, too. Many schools have posters in the classrooms and hallways, and the students are told they should have no reasonable expectation of privacy." Hignell said when Zigro indicates at a school, he and the dog then leave. "It's dealt with at the principal's discretion." - --- MAP posted-by: Derek