NO PLAN TO SNIFF SCHOOLS FOR DRUGS

Brandon Dog Search Won't Be Copied Here

MANITOBA'S largest school division has no plan to let drug-sniffing
dogs check out students' lockers despite approved searches in Brandon
that recently uncovered methamphetamine and marijuana.

Winnipeg School Division spokeswoman Linda Wilson said the division
has a policy that protects students from intrusive searches by
outside agencies such as police.

That policy states school officials have the right to search a
student's locker, with the student present, if there are grounds to
believe the student may be hiding drugs or other material, like
pornography, that threaten school safety and discipline.

But Brandon School Division officials have taken a different
position. In the past year a drug-detection dog has been allowed into
Crocus Plains Regional Secondary School where methamphetamine has
been found on two occasions in four months. The most recent search
was Monday night. Assistant superintendent Doug Milak told the
Brandon Sun the searches were needed to drive illegal drugs from city schools.

"Hopefully, there certainly will be a deterrent in terms of
searches," Milak said. "This will be an ongoing process, there's no
question of that."

The dog, named Billy and handled by private investigation company
Rogue Crew Investigations, searched the school when it was empty. It
was a spot-check under the division's searches, inspections,
screenings and seizure policy.

The methamphetamine and a small amount of marijuana were found under
a baseboard heater in a change room, the Brandon Sun reported. The
crystal meth was in a baggie, the marijuana in a plastic container.

Jeff Bellingham of Rogue Crew Investigations said he has several
clients besides the Brandon School Division, but that confidentiality
agreements with them prevent him from talking about his work.

"What I can say is that we've done other schools, as well as business
settings, manufacturing plants and private homes," he said. "Billy
has located various quantities of cannabis, powder and crack cocaine,
and methamphetamine on a number of occasions."

Bellingham's dog is the first in Manitoba to do private drug searches.

Bellingham is a retired police drug investigator and Billy, a Belgian
Malinois, is trained to American Drug Enforcement Agency standards.

Bellingham has said his dog has also been used at several Manitoba
businesses whose managers fear drug use on the job could affect
productivity and worker safety. Parents have also hired him to search
their homes to learn if their kids are using drugs. Drugs found by
his dog are given to police for destruction. School officials and the
students' parents punished the students.