POLICE, SCHOOL BOARD WILL CONTINUE ANTI-DRUG EFFORTS

EFFORTS: Police can still do searches

A Supreme Court decision ending random drug searches will not affect
the work police are doing at area schools, said Tillsonburg OPP
detachment commander Insp. Jack Goodlett.

Last week, The Supreme Court of Canada ruled that random police dog
drug searches won't hold up in court because they violate privacy rights.

The ruling was spurred after a Sarnia student appealed charges
against him in 2004 when a random drug dog search found him in
possession of marijuana and mushrooms at school.

The ruling means police cannot do a sweep of schools for drugs
without prior, justifiable suspicion of a crime.

Goodlett said OPP in the Thames Valley area has not done any of
those searches in the past few years because they were waiting for
just this decision.

"As such the Supreme Court decision has no impact on what we have
been doing," Goodlett said.

He added that their efforts to keep schools drug free will continue,
however, as they are still free to conduct proper investigations and
act on tips.

"And we have a police officer in the schools and that's helping us
achieve our goal," he said.

"Of course we will follow the law, but that doesn't mean we have to
stop the work of keeping the school drug free. We can still do
searches. We have never searched kids' backpacks, but lockers are
school property and if the school asks us to we can still conduct
searches in schools, but we will certainly work within the law."

In Norfolk, Constable Mark Foster said the ruling could have an
impact but police have other tools as well.

Foster said there's a possibility of more drug trafficking or
possession on school property because of the ruling, but warned
students the police force will continue to be diligent in keeping
drugs out of schools.

"Our high school officers and patrol units will continue to be
observant and act on any tips or knowledge they have or get from
students," Foster said.

With enough information, police can still apply for a search warrant
for a particular locker.

Foster said the possibility of dogs coming in at any time kept
students wary of bringing their stash to school. The intention of
the random searches, Foster said, wasn't always to lay charges, but
ultimately to create a drug-free school.