Pubdate: Fri, 06 Jul 2007 Source: Dominion Post, The (New Zealand) Copyright: 2007 The Dominion Post Contact: http://www.dompost.co.nz Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2550 Author: Ben Fawkes Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth) CALL FOR DRUG, WEAPON SEARCHES AT SCHOOLS Schools want to know what power they have to search pupils as the number of children taking drugs and weapons to class continues to increase. Since 2000, the number of pupils suspended or stood down for drug use has risen by 55 per cent. The number excluded for violence has increased by 37 per cent. Former New Zealand School Trustees Association adviser Ray McMillan, who is to give a presentation on the issue at the association's annual conference in Wellington tomorrow, said many schools were struggling to stem the spread of drugs among students. "In some schools the drug problem has become so bad, they have gone beyond looking through school bags and now use sniffer dogs." Drug use was not confined to secondary schools, with an increasing number of younger children experimenting with illegal substances. "Searching students for drugs is not uncommon at intermediate schools now," he said. Mr McMillan had been contacted by several school boards of trustees, seeking clarity on their right to search students, in a bid to clamp down on violent and disruptive behaviour. Mr McMillan said he believed the Education Act gave schools the right to perform searches on students, provided the grounds for the search were reasonable. Schools could search pupils if they had "reasonable suspicion" they were carrying drugs or weapons but should be wary of "fishing" expeditions, he said. "They wouldn't be able to search a whole class for a missing iPod, but if a scalpel went missing from a science class, and there had been a problem with weapons at a school, that could be reasonable grounds for a search." Schools needed to have strict procedures for searches, and they should only be done by adequately trained senior staff, he said. They should not strip-search pupils but a "pat down" was acceptable. Wellington College headmaster Roger Moses agreed schools needed to have clear guidelines for searching pupils. They also needed to exercise caution when carrying out the checks, he said. Human rights lawyer Michael Bott said aspects of Mr McMillan's interpretation of the act could breach the Bill of Rights, which protected people from "unnecessary search and seizure". - --- MAP posted-by: Derek