DRUG DOG GOES TO SCHOOL

Armed with a pair of soulful brown eyes and a high-powered nose, Ebony the
drug-sniffing dog is ready to prowl Edmonton high schools. But not everyone
wants to welcome the police pooch with open arms and a pat on the head.

"The school board is teaching students that their privacy isn't important -
that it can be infringed without any formal process that involves search
warrants and that sort of thing," says Stephen Jenuth of the Alberta Civil
Liberties Association.

"It really teaches our students how to be bad citizens, because they may
well in the future think this is the appropriate way to act."

The Edmonton public school division recently signed an agreement with city
police to launch a pilot project that will allow high school principals to
request a random drug search by Ebony, a one-year-old black Lab, and her
handler.

"We believe this project will help educate students about the risks of drug
use and possession and deter them from bringing drugs into the school,"
Superintendent Angus McBeath said.

School division officials emphasized the project is not meant to increase
enforcement, but to prevent illicit drugs from ever entering the school. If
the dog finds a student's stash, the principal decides if charges will be laid.

Parents were consulted through their school councils last fall and their
response was "extremely positive," said division spokesman Lisa Austin.

Alberta Teachers Association president Frank Bruseker hadn't heard of the
project. The teachers' organization has never discussed the use of
drug-sniffing dogs before, but on face value it seems like an acceptable
way to enhance student safety, Bruseker said.

School officials might not like the idea so much if the tables were turned,
Jenuth said.

"I don't think a student would be allowed to bring a drug dog through the
trustees' offices. I'm sure they would find that very intrusive."