PARENTS ALLOWED TO CALL IN DRUG DOGS

Anxious parents who call in sniffer dogs to search for drugs in their
children's bedrooms in their absence should not fear legal problems under
the Privacy Act.

John Hancock, who works for Youth Law providing free legal advice to
under-25s, said that as owners of the house, parents needed only give
permission for a search.

But New Zealand was a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the
Rights of the Child, which says children should not be subjected to
"arbitrary" infringements of their privacy.

"But the convention is not written into law in New Zealand. It's really
only a guide," said Mr Hancock.

"What would concern me more is the breach of trust involved. Parents would
have to consider how they might repair any damage done to their
relationship with their children, especially if they've gone behind their
backs."

Ex-police dog handler Paul Thomas has been steadily building a customer
base over the past two years, hiring out three teams of handler and dog for
between $300 and $700 to search companies, schools and private homes.

His Elite Dog Services offers the only private drug dog search service in
the country.

In the past year he has searched up to 40 private homes for drugs, usually
while children were at school, and about half the searches yielded drugs.

His company works closely with the parents before and after the search, Mr
Thomas said.

If "dealable" quantities of drugs were found, police must be notified, he
said. He had not had any parents who tried to stop that happening. Some
wanted police involved if drugs for personal use were found and "that's
[the parents'] choice".

Mr Thomas said some of New Zealand's big corporates were paying for drug
searches of their premises up to four times a year. Most companies who
hired his dog teams were those with good health programmes in place and
Elite Dog Services had worked hard to achieve a good rapport with unions,
he said.

Employment lawyer John Rooney, of Auckland law firm Simpson Grierson, said
companies had to comply with the Employment Relations Act and the Privacy
Act when doing drug searches.

"If you used a sniffer dog and then wanted to look in someone's bag, what
do you do if they refuse?

"You can't force the person to open the bag and then you have to decide
whether that's reasonable grounds for dismissal. Employers also have to
worry about the good faith provisions of the ERA, meaning searches would
probably have to be carried out in consultation with their workforce."

Schools were also being offered the service.

One Auckland secondary principal said if that kind of search was thought
necessary, it was likely the school would use police rather than a private
company.

He said it should be possible for staff to spot if pupils were using drugs.

Regional Alcohol and Drug Services clinical team leader Sharon Lynds said
parents should keep talking to their kids or get information on how to spot
the tell-tale signs of drug use.

"Parents need to keep the lines of communication open, keep well-informed
and find out where they can get support.

"But most of all they need to talk to their kids."