Pubdate: Tue, 25 Jan 2005
Source: Daily News, The (Longview, WA)
Copyright: 2005 The Daily News
Contact: http://www.tdn.com/forms/letters.php
Website: http://www.tdn.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2621
Author: Hope Anderson
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth)

DRUG DOGS HEADED TO LONGVIEW CAMPUSES

Dogs will sniff in Longview schools next year for drugs, alcohol and 
firearms in a long-awaited decision Monday by the Longview School Board.

"This has been a long road in getting there, but good things take time," 
said Ramona Leber, director of the Cowlitz County Substance Abuse 
Coalition, in affirming the board's unanimous vote.

After nearly three years of discussion --- and shelving the issue --- and 
reopening the discussion, the board approved the use of 
contraband-detecting dogs to sniff unoccupied classrooms, lockers and cars 
parked on district property starting in fall 2005. Dogs will not search 
people, according to state law.

The adopted policy, which was recommended earlier this month by a 15-member 
committee, bans sniffing for medications. The board hedged the ban, though, 
saying prescription medications could be added to the list in the future.

Some students told the board Monday they worried the dogs would violate 
their personal privacy and wouldn't be effective anyway.

Andy Wilson, an 18-year-old senior at R.A. Long High School, said the 
policy had too many "loopholes."

"Kids are really smart. If they want to get the drugs and bring them to 
school, they'll just put them in the cars and park them on the street," 
Wilson said.

Lindsey Lee, a 17-year-old senior at R.A. Long agreed: "Kids are going to 
do it anyways, before school or after school. Kids will always find a way 
to be more sneaky," she told the board.

The purpose of the policy, however, isn't to "bust everybody," school board 
member Barb Westrick said.

"We just want to get the message out that we don't want drugs in our 
schools," she said.

The board's decision gives school administration a green light to begin 
searching for a drug-sniffing dog company, put together regulations, inform 
the community and find funding.

A full-day, monthly visit to the middle and high schools could cost about 
$10,000 a year, according to the district.

The board plans to evaluate the program by compiling discipline statistics; 
surveying students, parents and staff; and tracking costs, class 
disruptions, accuracy and number of times the dog detects contraband, 
according to the approved policy.

In the past, the district has avoided using the animals for fear of 
violating constitutional rights to privacy. But last spring, it reopened 
the issue after a presentation from a private company that uses 
contraband-sniffing dogs.

The company told the board that using a private company, rather than law 
enforcement-provided dogs, helps avoid legal pitfalls.

Board members said using drug-sniffing dogs is only one strategy in the 
battle against drugs.

"We shouldn't look at this policy in a vacuum," board member Ted Thomas 
said. "We should look at this as a piece of the puzzle."
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