SHOULD WE HAVE DRUG DOGS SNIFFING AT LOCKERS?

My Generation

This past week, the Abbotsford school board considered using drug-sniffing
dogs to check lockers in its schools. This possibility has outraged the
B.C. Civil Liberties Association, which is concerned about the effect on
students.

In all law enforcement, there is a delicate balance between enforcement and
infringement, and as with all other forms of enforcement, the people in
authority must carefully consider the merits of using drug dogs.

The use of drug dogs in schools is an appropriate measure to take, so long
as the administration conducts searches in a respectful manner. The B.C.
Civil Liberties Association (BCCLA) is concerned about infringements on
student rights. However, if the administration conducts searches during
class time and closes the area being searched to students, it would greatly
lessen the cause for such concerns.

The BCCLA is also worried about the impact the program may have on students
that the dog falsely identifies as having drugs. These false alarms occur
approximately 20 per cent of the time. Again, if the administration carries
out the searches privately, then these false alarms would not pose much of
a problem.

I would be willing to open my locker and let a teacher search it if a drug
dog had indicated it as a possible problem.

Those in a position of authority must always balance rights with law
enforcement. In the case of drug dogs in schools, the law should supersede
the student's right to the privacy of his or her locker, although the right
to anonymity should remain intact. The lockers are the property of the
school, not of the student. In addition, the Pintree Secondary Code of
Conduct prohibits drugs in any part of the school, as do many other school
and district policies. In the workplace, the manager can order lockers to
be checked and can dismiss any worker in possession of illegal material.
Drug dogs often check luggage at the airport. So why should school policy
differ from any of these places outside the school environment?

The presence of drug dogs would also act as a deterrent for students who
might consider bringing drugs to school. Although random locker checks
would achieve the same effect, as a student I would rather have drug dogs
checking the school than teachers making locker checks. Many schools are
too large for locker checks to remain anonymous and these checks can miss
cleverly hidden items. As well, for the majority of the student population,
the drug dog is much less invasive than locker checks.

If schools are to take measures against the storage of drugs, dogs would be
preferable to locker checks.

Where drugs have become a problem in schools, drug dogs are a viable and
appropriate option. As long as the administration keeps student privacy
intact, the dogs do not infringe on any of the students' rights.

Instead, the dogs enforce the law and the code of conduct that every
student is subject to, ensuring that the most important student right, to
learn in a clean and safe environment, remains intact.

Jesse Coelho is a Grade 12 student at Pinetree Secondary School in Coquitlam.