POLICE DOG TO SNIFF FOR DRUGS AT SHS

SOUTHINGTON - Students at Southington High School and DePaolo and Kennedy
middle schools will have the long nose of the law to deal with soon under a
new program that will use drug-sniffing police dogs to make random sweeps
of lockers.

Members of the Police Department gave a computer slide presentation to the
Board of Education Thursday night, detailing how the program will and will
not work.

"We won't be searching students, and it doesn't mean there is a big drug
problem (at the schools)," Capt. William Palmieri told the board. "This is
a proactive move to keep kids safe. That's the bottom line."

The program will utilize the department's only dog, Gaston, under the
direction of Officer John Mahon to make random sweeps of school property
and lockers.

Police and school officials will be the only ones who know when Gaston will
be making sweeps and all checks will be done while students are in class,
Palmieri said.

"Canine and student interaction will be kept a minimum," Palmieri said.

Gaston, who has been with the department for four years, is certified to
track marijuana, cocaine, heroin, Ecstasy and methamphetamines, Palmieri said.

The board did not need to take up a vote on the program since attorneys for
the school system determined that the use of police dogs for random
searches of air space around lockers is permitted under case law and
Connecticut General Statutes, School Superintendent Harvey Polansky said.

Under General Statute 54-33n, school systems can authorize the search of
lockers and school property if "the search is justified at its inception,"
and when the measures adopted are "reasonably related to the objectives of
the search" and "not excessively intrusive" of the students.

Furthermore, school and police officials noted that it is stated clearly in
the schools' student handbooks that their lockers can be searched at any time.

"By law, we own the contents in the locker," Polansky said. "We are not
going to inspect a backpack on a kid's back. We're not going to frisk
students. We're not going to turn the high school into a police station.
.. This will be a deterrent. I want our schools to be drug free."

Police Chief Jack Daly said police and school officials have been
developing this program over the past year and methodically researched how
the program would work in accordance with the law. Daly said police will be
attending Parent-Teacher Organization meetings at the three schools in the
coming weeks and then hold a student assembly to make sure everyone
understands what will be taking place.

"We want to be very up front with everyone about this," Daly said.

While police said the program is primarily meant as a deterrent, police did
note that over the past four years, the high school had 48 reported drug
incidents that resulted in 18 arrests. Kennedy had three drug incidents,
resulting in two arrests and DePaolo had six incidents resulting in six
arrests, which drew moans from school officials and the public in attendence.

Palmieri reported that this school year, there have been only five
incidents at the high school all resulting in arrests and no incidents at
the middle schools so far. But that doesn't mean drugs aren't part of daily
life for the students at the schools, according to Southington High School
student Catrina Lozinski, who was taking notes for the board at the meeting.

"I think this is a really great idea," Lozinski said. "I'm a student; I see
what happens. I've seen students taking drugs right before my eyes. There
is a lot of dealing going on in the parking lot. It's a big problem at
Southington High."

Board member Brian S. Goralski asked if Gaston could be used to also search
the parking lots, as wells as the locker rooms and the athletic fields
where students may congregate to use and sell illegal drugs.

"Sporting events is a major concern for me," Goralski said. "Perhaps we can
search the parking lots, too. Sometimes people do inappropriate things in
their own vehicles."

Palmieri and Polansky both said that due to potential legal issues
pertaining to performing random searches on students' private vehicles,
they will only be searching in the schools, unless something specific leads
Gaston to a certain car.

"I'd like to be sure and keep this small at first," Polansky said. "We
should make sure the program is done right and then look at other avenues."

While most of the board members seemed impressed by the program and eager
to implement it, board member Jerry W. Belanger did raise concerns over
whether students' civil liberties could possibly be violated under this
program.

"Our civil liberties seem to erode every day. This, on the surface, seems
to be another intrusion on civil liberties," Belanger said.

Board member Rosemarie Micacci Fischer disagreed with Belanger's view.

"How different is this from checkpoints on Queen Street?," Fischer asked.
"We have the tools. Let's implement the tools and let the courts handle it
if we get to that point."