ABBOTSFORD BOARD OKAYS DRUG DOGS

Under the Plan, School Lockers Would Be Randomly Checked

The Abbotsford school board is planning to start randomly checking its
high schools with drug-sniffing dogs starting in September.

Reacting to an increasing presence of crystal meth at its schools, and
a drug problem that one trustee said has been ignored for too long,
the program will be included in the board's drug prevention strategy.

"We have to do something. [The drug problem] is not getting any better
and it needs to be addressed somehow," said school board trustee
Uultsje DeJong. "Crystal meth is here and it's getting worse daily."

The proposal for the random locker checks was approved last week by
the board, and once a policy is hammered out, there will be one more
vote before the program gets the full go-ahead for September.

DeJong said details of the program have not yet been finalized by the
policy committee, but it looks as though the dog-sniffing checks will
be administered by a private dog handler.

DeJong would like to see the random checks done monthly, but said cost
will be a determining factor in how often they're done.

"We're not going to do this at any cost, but at the same time, the
drug problem that we have in our schools is at a cost now," he said.

By addressing the drug problem, DeJong believes drop-out rates would
decrease and standardized testing scores would increase.

But the cost of a similar drug-dog program in Surrey was what
eventually killed the plan earlier this month.

The board cancelled its plans after discovering the cost of using a
private security firm's dogs would cost at least $50,000 annually.

However, DeJong said there's a possibility agencies in Abbotsford
would provide the service "at no cost or very little cost."

In addition to the random checks, the school board is planning to
utilize legislation that DeJong said allows for stiffer penalties for
those caught with drugs in designated "drug-free zones" around the
schools.

Partnering with the police department and the Crown, the school board
will make it known that anyone caught with drugs within a two-block
radius of a school could face triple the usual penalties, which vary
from six months to 10 years in prison, depending on the substance and
amount.

Board chairwoman Joanne Field said the drug-dog program and the
drug-free zones are meant to send a strong message to students.

"We mean business on this," Field said. "We're trying to protect our
students."

Field said the board has received legal advice on the privacy issues
surrounding the locker checks and as long as schools tell students at
the beginning of the year that their lockers might be checked by
drug-sniffing dogs, there are no legal breaches.

"We can do this legally," Field said. "The main thing is that you need
to notify students that there is not an expectation of privacy in
their lockers."

But John Russell, president of the B.C. Civil Liberties Association,
said random drug checks in schools are not the answer.

"There are many things wrong with it," Russell said. "It's part of a
morally bankrupt and practically ineffective war on drugs."

Russell said the net effect of similar programs is that young people
end up with criminal records that "pose problems for them later in
life."

But DeJong said there likely won't be many, if any arrests are
connected to the locker checks.

"The drug dogs aren't about nailing people and trying to convict
them," he said. "One aspect of it is, but the kids who are using
drugs, we're trying to expose it first of all, identify who they are
and then try to get them some help."

The main target is those who are trafficking drugs.

"We want to do everything we possibly can to bring them to some type
of justice," he said.

Russell said he understands the rationale for wanting to keep drugs
out of schools, but says introducing legal enforcement is not the way
to do it.

"If the aim here is to deal with actual problems within the school
that are caused by drugs then I think it's understandable that the
school would want to address that, but by dealing with it as a law
enforcement issue creates more problems than it solves," Russell said.

"It sends the wrong message to the students that they're all under
surveillance, that they're all under suspicion."

But DeJong said he hasn't had a single complaint or negative comment
about the proposed program.

Students at W.J. Mouat secondary don't seem to object, and say the
program is worth a try.

"People who ... make the stupid decisions are the ones that will pay,"
said Grade 12 student Stefanie Halldorson.

"It may not solve the problem, but it might help," added Alea Nash,
also in Grade 12.

"I think it's okay. I don't think anyone ... who's obeying the rules
will really care," said Stephanie Hobbs, 18.

Principal Des McKay also supports the plan and said the drug dogs will
likely make the schools safer.

"Most of the kids, they don't want the drugs around. We should do
whatever it takes to make the schools safe," he said. "Everybody has
to take a stand. This is a war. It's a war on drugs."