SNIFFER DOGS SENT TO SCHOOLS TO TACKLE DRUG TAKING

SNIFFER dogs are to be sent into schools across Scotland to tackle
spiralling drug abuse among pupils.

Dealers and users have already been caught in a series of
unannounced raids at schools in Dumfries and Galloway, the Borders
and Highlands.

Now, the police dogs will be used to carry out random checks at
schools across Scotland amid mounting evidence that cannabis is
replacing tobacco as the drug of choice behind the bike sheds.

According to a recent survey, a third of 15-year-olds have used
cannabis and almost one in eight has tried drugs such as cocaine,
speed and ecstasy. Among 13-year-olds, more than one in 10 claims to
have used drugs. Last year there were about 250 drug-related
incidents involving pupils at primary and secondary schools.

The police dogs are set to carry out random searches at Douglas
Ewart high school in Newton Stewart, Dumfries and Galloway. Other
secondary schools in the area have been subjected to similar
searches in the past. They included Stranraer academy, which was
searched in February after eight pupils, aged between 14 and
17, were suspended for smoking cannabis during a lunch break.

Jean Godden, the headteacher at Nairn academy, has also warned
parents and pupils that sniffer dogs will be visiting classrooms in
the near future.

"We are sending out a clear message that drugs have no place in any
school," she said. "If no drugs are found, parents and staff will be
reassured that pupils are not being exposed to that risk. However,
if someone is found in possession of a banned substance, parents
will be equally reassured that the situation has been exposed and dealt with."

Kingussie high school in the Highlands called in the police after
parents raised concerns that pupils were dealing drugs.

"We try to educate youngsters as best we can about the dangers of
drugs, but I thought it was time to try something more radical,"
said Eddie Broadley, the school's headteacher.

Northern Constabulary dog handlers brought two specially trained
springer spaniels into classrooms and one pupil was expelled after
being found in possession of cannabis.

During the raid teachers were searched as well as pupils. Another
operation is planned in the near future.

Scottish Borders council also intends to work with the police to
bring in sniffer dogs in schools as well as local youth centres and
other areas used by young people.

Tom Wood, Scotland's drugs czar, said he supported the use of
sniffer dogs where local police, headteachers and council officials
believed drugs in schools were a problem.

Meanwhile, one of Scotland's leading addiction experts has predicted
parents will be forced to test their children for drugs after the
Scottish executive ruled out the practice in schools.

Professor Neil McKeganey, of Glasgow University's Centre for Drug
Misuse Research, said the refusal by ministers to sanction random
drug-testing of pupils meant an increasing number of parents will be
forced to take the initiative.

Home-testing kits for cannabis, cocaine and heroin are widely
available on the internet and cost about #10. The most popular,
which involves taking a mouth swab, can provide a 98.5% accurate
result within five minutes. Another involves taking a urine sample
that is sent to a laboratory for analysis.

Last week McKeganey, a Scottish executive adviser, urged ministers
to sanction spot checks in schools to tackle a growing "culture of
acceptance" of drug-taking among young people.

"We should not simply stand by and watch the lives of young people
being destroyed by their involvement in drug culture," he said.