Pubdate: Wed, 22 Feb 2006
Source: Jasper Booster (CN AB)
Copyright: 2006 The Jasper Booster
Contact:  http://www.jasperbooster.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/788
Author: Alisen Charlten
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?237 (Drug Dogs)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth)

EXPLORING OPTIONS TO CONTEND WITH DRUGS

The staff at Jasper Jr./Sr. High School is exploring measures to deal 
with concerns of drugs on school grounds and they're looking to the 
RCMP for help.

In a recent high school newsletter, the school discussed the 
potential for searching lockers periodically using a police dog, but 
the possibility of this measure is still being discussed.

Cpl. Leon Fiedler and his German Shepherd police dog Jake from Stoney 
Plain made a presentation to high school students and Jasper 
Elementary School Grade 6 students on Feb. 16. After the 
presentation, Fielder and local RCMP discussed with a staff member a 
number of solutions besides dog searches that could help control the 
presence of drugs within the school.

Periodic staff searches of lockers or persons suspected of using 
drugs by high school staff were among these suggestions, but exact 
measures to be taken have yet to be determined.

School liaison Const. Stephanie Lutes and staff will be talking about 
the issue more in the near future.

According to Fiedler, schools in St. Albert have begun a program of 
routine searches using a golden retriever trained solely for 
narcotics searches, but the project is still in the early stages of 
implementation.

During the presentation, Fiedler explained to the audience the four 
main jobs that Jake performs: tracking, searching, narcotics searches 
and criminal apprehension.

He explained how dogs can detect the difference in smells between 
individuals because each person has their own unique scent.

Local Parks Canada dog handler Darian Sillence helped Jake 
demonstrate his criminal apprehension skills. Acting aggressive and 
waving his bite-guard covered arm at the dog, Sillence pretended to 
be a threat to and Jake quickly responded by clamping down on 
Sillence's covered arm after Fiedler's signal.

The students also learned that a dog is either trained to detect 
narcotics or explosives but not both because handlers need to be sure 
that the hidden substance the dog has detected isn't dangerous.

Jake works on a praise reward system so when he completes a task he 
gets to play with his favorite toy for a short time.

Though some of his time is spent finding missing people, like elderly 
person's affected by dementia who've wandered off, the work that Jake 
and Fiedler perform can also be dangerous.

"We have dogs that get stabbed and shot while working every year," 
said Fielder.

Because of this, Jake has a special Kevlar vest he wears for his protection.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom