SCHOOL DRUG CASES DOWN

Ploch: 'The K-9 Unit Is Doing Well' At NHS

Criminal offenses are up, and felony drug cases are down in
Nacogdoches ISD schools, according to a fall semester report issued
by the NISD Police Department.

Twenty-nine citations were issued to Nacogdoches ISD students during
the fall 2007 semester, which is four more than were issued during
the fall 2006 semester, according to the first-semester report.

NISD Police Chief Doug Ploch said the citations were written for any
offense that could have been considered a class C misdemeanor.

"Disorderly conduct, like fighting, ... or any gang-related
activity," Ploch said, "any theft under $50 is also a class C misdemeanor."

A majority of the statistics were up, compared to fall 2006, but
Ploch said the district mirrors what occurs within the city and the state.

"Compared to last year, it (NISD criminal offenses) went up," Ploch
said. "But compared to previous years, it was down."

When Ploch presented the report at the Jan. 18 NISD board of trustees
meeting, Trustee Phil Mahar said one reason that the criminal
offenses are up could be in part to NISD officers doing "a better job
of policing."

A reduction in drug arrests at Nacogdoches High School may be in part
to the K-9 Unit, Ploch said.

"The K-9 Unit is doing well," Ploch said. "We had zero controlled
substance (felony) arrests."

Dasti, a 2-year-old German Shepherd from the Czech Republic, patrols
NHS every day with NISD Officer JohnWayne Valdez.

He is trained to search for narcotics, including marijuana, cocaine
and heroine, Valdez said.

"He's been effective," Valdez said. "We've only had two drug arrests
since he's been here. He's good at what he does."

Dasti works every day, "in short spurts" so that he does not get too tired.

Before every classroom or locker search, Valdez will take out Dasti's
red ball and pretend to throw it. In return, Dasti starts his search for drugs.

Dasti associates the toy ball with the odor of drugs, which
ultimately makes him believe that finding the odor is a game, Valdez said.

Once he finds drugs, Valdez throws him the ball as a treat for his
work, but Dasti is unaware that the ball is coming from Valdez.

"To him, in his mind, it's magic," Valdez said.

Dasti is the only dog in Nacogdoches County trained and used to
search for narcotics, and he Dasti understands that in every
situation he may not find any drugs, Valdez said.

"He is the most useful police tool that I will probably ever have,"
Valdez said. "You can't train him to lie."