ILLEGAL SCHOOL SEARCHES

It appears several Detroit public high schools committed a fascist
faux pas by allowing their students to be lined up like criminals in
the hallways and frisked by police and security officers. The
searches, conducted in at least four schools, were reportedly not
instigated by any known or suspected criminal activity. They were just
a random pat-down for possible contraband like drugs or guns. At
Mumford High School a search of about 1,800 students turned up no such
items.

It is not surprising that the offensive sweeps have resulted in a
federal lawsuit against the city, school system, and individual police
and security officers. The American Civil Liberties Union filed suit
on behalf of three students who say they were frisked and their
pockets, purses, and other personal belongings searched without
justification.

One student who objected to the mass inspection was arrested for
disorderly conduct, according to the ACLU of Michigan. Its complaint,
filed in U.S. District Court in Detroit, accused the school district
of periodically conducting mass searches for guns or drugs "not based
on suspected lawbreaking by any one student or group." The civil
liberties group says such baseless sweeps are unconstitutional.

"These kinds of policies turn our schoolhouses into jailhouses,"
agreed Detroit attorney Amos Williams, who joined the ACLU in filing
suit. Besides declaring the school searches unconstitutional, the
plaintiffs also seek unspecified damages and a ban on future police
pat-downs.

And well they should. Because while school security is an ongoing
challenge in many urban areas and current protective measures
including metal detectors and the presence of police and security
officers in buildings are not foolproof, subjecting students to
degrading frisks and indiscriminate searches is unacceptable.

"Once you open this door," said ACLU executive director Kary Moss,
"it's very hard to close."

Neither the Detroit Public Schools nor the city has had much to say
about the sweeps that, besides Mumford, were also held this year at
Murray-Wright, Pershing, and Redford high schools. But soon enough
they'll have to answer to the court for introducing students to the
face of fascism as they were lined up in droves to be frisked and
searched by police.

The ACLU has a good case to argue that the random sweeps policy in
Detroit schools is a flawed way to achieve a worthy intent: to protect
students against violence.