SCHOOL DISTRICT LOOKS AT GETTING OWN DOGS TO SNIFF OUT DRUGS IN LOCKERS

DAWSON CREEK - The school district is looking at getting its own dog
to sniff out drugs in lockers.

District administrator Rob Dennis said that while police need warrants
to conduct searches, because police dogs are considered police
officers, the board could get around that by hiring its own
investigative dog.

The issue was raised during a discussion of the RCMP's relationship
with schools.

Const. Al Sullivan of the Dawson Creek RCMP dog unit said arguments
against using the dogs started about four years ago after a judge
threw out one high-profile case.

"And then some districts decided parents had to sign consent letters
allowing random RCMP searches of lockers before their child could
enrol, but that too was thrown out by the Supreme Court," said Sullivan.

Because of the court ruling, it has been more than two years since the
RCMP used a dog in a random search of a school in the district, even
though Dennis said it was a deterrent.

"It could have been every two weeks or two months," he said. "We liked
to keep the students guessing and we did find [some minor amounts of
drugs].

"Even if there wasn't anything in there, the dog could still smell it
on clothing."