ABBOTSFORD FAVOURS BRINGING DRUG-SNIFFING DOGS INTO SCHOOLS

ABBOTSFORD - Despite vehement opposition from the B.C. Civil Liberties
Association, the majority of Abbotsford school board trustees are in favour
of implementing drug-sniffing dogs in schools.

With the vote being held Monday night, that could mean dogs in schools by
as early as January.

That concerns BCCLA executive director Murray Mollard, who says putting
search dogs in schools "is a disastrous path that would certainly lead to
false allegations and wrongly stigmatize students as drug users."

He added that reports show drug-sniffing dogs are correct only 20 per cent
of the time.

"The high rate of false alerts will most certainly lead to traumatic,
intrusive and demeaning experiences for students who will unavoidably be
stigmatized as drug users even when no drugs are found," he said in a press
release.

School board vice-chairman John Smith noted that the policy, which would
see drug dogs enter random middle and high schools on a monthly basis when
students aren't around, is nothing new.