DRUG DOGS COMING TO SCHOOLS?

Board Set To Approve Sniffer Dogs For Locker Inspections

The Abbotsford school board will likely approve a controversial draft drug
policy today to bring drug dogs into schools despite the objections of the
B.C. Civil Liberties Association.

Trustee and policy committee chairman Don Szostak said the board has
studied the policy carefully and will likely approve it in principle at
today's meeting.

"The plan is to vote to approve it in principle and then go out for
stakeholder input," Szostak said yesterday.

Usually, stakeholder input is sought before a policy is approved in
principle, but Szostak said board members wanted to get moving.

"We've spent a long time working on this policy," the trustee said, adding
the board could still rescind it after the input period ends in January.

BCCLA executive director Murray Molland raised concerns about the impact on
students if dogs give a false positive alert when sniffing a locker, as
happens in 20 per cent of cases.

"The school board is embarking on a disastrous path that will certainly
lead to false accusations and wrongly stigmatize students as drug users,"
Molland said in a statement.

But Szostak said the district has addressed that by inserting a provision
to bar students from hallways when dogs conduct tests and ensure locker
searches are done after hours.

"We're trying to be as respectful and sensitive of people's privacy as
possible," Szostak said, "but on the other hand, if there are drugs in a
locker, we want to deal with it."