POOCHES POUNCE ON POT

Drug-sniffing dogs in local secondary schools might not be a long way off,
according to two incumbent trustees.

The idea comes after a drug-crime task force from the Surrey School
District announced a need to partner with the local RCMP to institute
random drug searches using dogs.

"Sniffer dogs are in the airports and they are there for the safety of
passengers," says Trustee Chris Rose.

"I think it's something students will have to get used to. Maybe students
need to get the message across that they can't do this." Drugs are a
problem in area secondary schools, says trustee Kim Van Tine, just as they
are a problem in all high schools in the province.

In fact, the Raven Youth program, part of the Phoenix Centre for drug and
alcohol treatment, has a program set up with the school district. Students
caught under the influence of drugs at school have a choice of taking the
course or facing suspension. According to counsellor Bob Hughes, 150
students went through the program last year.

"It's pretty prevalent," he says, but involving police could be a mistake.

"Bringing in police you criminalize the behaviour ... it's a significant
problem, but is it criminal behaviour? I'm not sure." A few years ago
trustees debated whether they could, legally and ethically, conduct locker
searches.

"The legalities and the human rights issue always came up... whose locker
is it? Is it the school's locker or the student's locker?" Van Tine wonders.

"It's all very complicated, but I also have to say it's the district's
responsibility to do its best to provide a drug-free environment in the
schools."

If students are willing to take a risk and bring drugs into the school,
they should expect to face consequences, Rose says, adding drugs in schools
make the facility unsafe for all students.

Until now, in order to conduct a locker search, probable cause was needed
and a warrant had to be issued, Van Tine says. Bringing a dog into the
school would provide for that probable cause if the dog indicated drugs
were likely to be in a locker. "It's a deterrent more than anything. If you
know there might be a drug sniffing dog in the school, you wouldn't bring
in drugs. I'm not saying it would get rid of the drug problem, but it would
certainly get it out of schools."