SCHOOLS GONE TO THE DOGS

The Cowichan Valley school board wants RCMP to search school lockers for
drugs, but must first develop a protocol that is fair to police, parents,
staff and students.

The board voted six-two earlier this month to hammer out the details of an
agreement with local RCMP that would allow Const. Al Hamilton and his
German shepherd drug dog Gator to sniff lockers for contraband.

"It is a good idea," said Trustee Gary Gunderson. "Illegal drugs have no
place in our schools. The use of drugs has been going on for quite some
time and the perpetrators have been doing it with impunity."

The deal will likely go ahead only if the public supports the notion, if
students are notified prior to searches and if police can recommend charges
when contraband is seized.

Trustee Janice Macalister said police should take a hard-line approach by
charging students caught with drugs.

"If this saves one child in the Valley it's worth it," she said.

Two trustees voted against the idea.

James Bell said it would be easy for students to plant drugs in each
other's lockers.

"One single cannabis cigarette will give them a record. It will hang over
them for the rest of their lives," he said. "This is a matter that must be
handled by the school and the parents, not the RCMP."

Trustee Peter Sussman also expressed concern the wrong people could be
blamed - specifically when students share lockers.

"I see that as a real sticky wicket," he said. "The risks are too great
when you allow this type of thing to be done."

School superintendent Brian Hoole will work with RCMP to develop the
protocol, but reaching agreement may be difficult.

Although police are high on the idea, they probably won't be willing to
invest time unless they can recommend charges against perpetrators -
something that may not sit well with some administrators.

"I believe that we should be advising the school authorities we will be
obtaining search warrants as required and charging anyone and everyone if
narcotics are detected by the Police Dog Service," wrote Cpl. Curtis
Horton, in a RCMP internal-memo. "To do otherwise is to send (a)
less-than-significant message to the student body that narcotics
enforcement is not taken seriously."

Even if the local dog team is allowed to search schools and prosecute
offenders, nobody can say for sure how productive the searches would be.

"Unfortunately, to our knowledge, no empirical evidence exists to suggest
that the use of drug-sniffing dogs is effective against the influx of drugs
into schools," wrote school liaison Const. Mike Field, in a letter to
Hoole. "Common sense would dictate that, even the most ardent user might
think twice about keeping his stash at the school knowing the dog might
reveal it's location."

If police were to search Cowichan schools, students would likely be
notified in advance, allowing them time to remove drugs from their lockers.

But Gator, a highly-trained police dog, is capable of picking up scents
that have been lingering for days, meaning police could invest hours
seeking search warrants and opening lockers only to find the perpetrators
have removed the contraband.

When police do find drugs they must walk a fine line to ensure they don't
violate students' Charter rights - legalities the RCMP is constantly trying
to interpret.

School authorities have the legal right to search lockers without police
authorization, but when they call police, a warrant must be obtained.

If police search a locker without a warrant, there is danger the courts
will rule the search illegal.