VITAL DEBATE' ON DRUGS IN SCHOOLS

Sir, The Schools Standards Minister, Estelle Morris, is to be commended on
opening a vital debate on the use of drugs in schools (report, November 17;
letters, November 18).

Research suggests a majority of young people experiment with drugs.
Exclusion from school is unlikely to change this, and could well create
further problems. It is significant that 98 per cent of males permanently
excluded find themselves involved in crime, as do 75 per cent of those
temporarily excluded.

Exclusion is, of course, a legitimate option for a school, but only as the
last resort, not the standard response. Is it right for schools, by
exclusion, to dump a problem on the community, increasing the likelihood of
the young person moving on to more crime or more serious crime? I believe
it is reasonable to expect them to tackle the problem - with appropriate
police involvement - internally, where it can often be dealt with much more
effectively.

There is a range of other options which schools might take up. Some schools
have introduced random drug testing. In Thames Valley our work on
restorative justice - which involves confronting offenders directly with
the consequences of their actions for other people, including their family,
peer group and (as in this case) their school community - is now being used
in our work with schools to find solutions to the problem of drugs in schools.

It is vital we debate these issues, but it is difficult when schools
understandably feel unwilling to discuss how they deal with drug incidents
for fear of bad publicity. I hope Estelle Morris's comments will now allow
debate to take place openly and objectively.

IAN ROBINSON
(Thames Valley Police
Anti-drugs Co-ordinator),
Police Headquarters,
Oxford Road, Kidlington,
Oxfordshire OX5 2NX

Checked-by: derek rea