RULING WON'T AFFECT DRUG DOG PROGRAM

A Supreme Court of Canada ruling on the use of random drug searches
will not impact the Canines for Safer Schools program at Porter Creek
Secondary School, says the school's drug awareness co-ordinator.

A Supreme Court of Canada ruling on the use of random drug searches
will not impact the Canines for Safer Schools program at Porter Creek
Secondary School, says the school's drug awareness co-ordinator.

"We don't do random searches at Porter Creek," Doug Green said in an
interview this morning.

The 6-3 decision reached by the Supreme Court of Canada was announced
this morning.

It found that drugs detected by dogs at a bus terminal in Alberta and
a high school in Ontario can't be used as evidence because of the
reasonable expectation of privacy.

Police must have a reasonable suspicion that an individual has a
prohibited substance before a search with sniffer dogs can be
conducted, the majority of the judges found.

"It's not unexpected," Green said of the ruling.

While Green is joined by his dog, Ebony, at the high school every
day, the Canines for Safer Schools program is an education initiative
where random searches aren't conducted.

The program, which began at the school last fall, sees Green offer
drug awareness education to students.

As in Alberta, where Green previously delivered the program, Ebony
often serves as a bridge for Green to talk to students as they approach Ebony.

Though Ebony is trained to detect drugs and will indicate when
they're detected, it is only after that a decision will be made by
the school's principal on how to proceed with a search or speaking to
the student or other means in dealing with the situation.

So far, no searches have been required, and would only be done based
on reasonable grounds, he said.

"The dog is a last resort," he said, stressing that warrantless,
random searches aren't done.

With a dog at the school every day, Green has found deterrence is an
effective component in keeping drugs out of the building.

In the Ontario case, it was found there's an expectation of privacy
in a school environment.

"As with briefcases, purses and suitcases, backpacks are the
repository of much that is personal - particularly for people who
lead itinerant lifestyles during the day as in the case of students
and travellers," Judge Ian Binnie wrote in the decision.

"No doubt, ordinary businessmen and businesswomen riding on public
transit or going up and down on elevators in office towers would be
outraged at any suggestion that the contents of their briefcases
could be randomly inspected by the police without 'reasonable
suspicion'of illegality."

Using a drug-sniffing dog, he stated, requires police to have
suspicions of possible criminal conduct that are "something more than
a mere suspicion, and something less than a belief based upon
reasonable and probable grounds."

In the Ontario case, the dog had been set loose on backpacks in the
school's gym.