POLICE TACTICS HURT SCHOOLS

I'm troubled by the announcement that random drug searches will be
conducted at Narragansett High School ("Drug-sniffing dogs to begin
work in school," news, Dec. 18).

For our education system to work most effectively, there needs to be
an atmosphere of trust between students and school officials. By
sending the message that students can't be trusted, the proposed
searches undermine the hard work and dedication that our teachers put
in every day.

The fact that these searches are even being proposed signals that the
way we deal with drugs in this country is flawed. We've failed to
provide our youth with effective drug education. DARE and scare
tactics haven't shown our children how to avoid the dangers of drugs.
Rather than conduct these searches, a better strategy would be to
invest time and money in honest drug-education programs.

We're pushing our children away. If we dealt with these problems in a
more realistic manner, we could build the atmosphere of trust that we
need.

TOM ANGELL

Warwick

The writer is a member of the board of directors of Students for
Sensible Drug Policy.