K-9 DRUG SWEEP SPARKS DEBATE

In recent years, K-9 sweeps of schools by police have raised concerns
that these searches may violate students' constitutional rights.
While some area school districts have allowed sweeps, others have not
embraced the practice.

In the past year, the Colonial Board of School Directors has resisted
requests by local police to perform K-9 searches of hallway lockers
in district schools.

A letter from the school board's attorney claims that merely having a
suspicion and not hard evidence of student drug use on campus is an
insufficient reason to let the police dogs routinely search school lockers.

While fear of unreasonable searches is a legitimate concern when the
animals are used to randomly sniff a student's body, clothing or book
bag, the same expectation of privacy does not apply to school
lockers, which are school property, according to an analysis of a
1998 Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruling involving a former Harborcreek
High School student in Erie County.

The former student, Vincent Cass, was arrested in 1994 after a K-9
sweep of his school found marijuana and drug paraphernalia in his
locker. Cass filed a lawsuit claiming the police action constituted
an unreasonable search and seizure under the Fourth Amendment and
Article 1, Section 8 of the Pennsylvania Constitution.

Though the trial court granted a motion to suppress the seized
evidence, and the Pennsylvania Superior Court affirmed the ruling,
the state Supreme Court ultimately reversed the decision.

The justices ruled students' measure of privacy was limited regarding
school lockers, and concluded from case law that dogs sniffing
lockers was not even considered a search under the Fourth Amendment,
according to a case summary by legal expert Mark Strezelecki.

In other words, K-9 sweeps of school lockers are legally permissible.
However, the decision to allow the practice is up to each individual
school district.

Plymouth Township police Chief Carmen Pettine has said random,
unannounced sweeps with trained dogs would deter students from
bringing drugs to local schools, but the Colonial School Board's
strict guidelines make carrying out routine sweeps nearly impossible.

"The school [district] shut the door on me," Pettine said.

Whitemarsh Township police Chief Eileen Whelan Behr and Conshohocken
police Chief James Dougherty support Pettine on using the dogs in schools.

Montgomery County District Attorney Bruce L. Castor Jr., who said K-9
units have been through his own children's schools, is also a
supporter of the practice.

"I'm a parent of two children in public schools, and I've in favor of
K-9 searches randomly or otherwise," Castor said. "It's routine."

Elected school boards have a right to make their own decisions on the
matter, Castor said.

Plymouth Township police has used K-9 units since 1990. Since then,
police dogs have done sweeps in Upper Merion, Pottstown, Spring-Ford,
Boyertown, Olney Valley and Exeter school districts, according to Pettine.

Before letting the dogs in, however, Colonial's board was advised
school officials should have "hard evidence of increased drug use in
the school that was not based on pure speculation," according a March
17, 2006, letter from Jeffrey Sultanik, the school board's attorney.

In his interpretation of the Cass decision, Sultanik would require
"documented evidence" that drug dealing is taking place in schools -
that is, actually observing students hand off narcotics in the hallway.

In addition, solid evidence should be put forth that drug use is "a
widespread problem" before any sweep is allowed," according to Sultanik.

"A canine sweep is one of many ways [of addressing drug
enforcement]," he said in an interview May 12. "But, there's a
question of whether it is an effective deterrent."

Critics of K-9 searches argue that if student drug users or dealers
come to expect routine sweeps, they would surely take their illicit
trade off campus. Though dogs may discourage bringing dope to school,
the problem of drug abuse would still exist.

Colonial School District's commitment to keep drugs and alcohol out
of schools is reflected in its Zero Tolerance Policy, DARE program,
security staff, surveillance cameras and "extensive" educational and
counseling programs, according to Sultanik's letter.

On May 10, four Plymouth Whitemarsh High School students were
arrested and charged with selling marijuana several times in March.

Though the students were originally charged with drug possession off
school property, during last week's raid, a dog sniff-searching
vehicles in the high school parking lot reportedly detected drugs in
a car belonging to one of the teenage suspects. Later, police
reportedly found a quarter-pound of marijuana in the vehicle.