DRUG-SNIFFING DOGS IN CITY SCHOOLS DEMANDED

A drug case implicating three south Winnipeg high schools has renewed
calls for drug-sniffing dogs to catch kids selling drugs in city schools.

Angry parents who contacted the Free Press on Friday said school
officials could do more to get drugs out of their children's schools
instead of taking a softer approach that education is better than punishment.

"Why a superintendent or school principal wouldn't want better
conditions for students is hard to understand," one father said.
"Some of these people have their heads in the sand."

The parents said they did not want to be identified because they did
not want their comments to hurt their children.

They said their kids tell them it's no secret that street drugs are
available for sale in their schools and that dealers are easy to
find. The problem is getting school officials to do something
meaningful to deter those responsible, they said.

Their comments follow the recent arrests of three men in Charleswood
for allegedly running a crack cocaine "dial-a-dealer" operation that
catered to students at Oak Park High School, Shaftesbury High School
and St. Paul's High School.

In the past, school divisions in Winnipeg have discussed using a dog
to search lockers or classrooms if there are grounds to believe drugs
are stashed on the premises.

But the divisions have decided dog searches are too intrusive. They
have also said school officials have the right to search a student's
locker, with the student present, if there are grounds to believe the
student may be hiding drugs or other material, like pornography, that
threaten school safety and discipline.

School officials in Brandon took the exact opposite stance.

Brandon School Division superintendent Dr. Donna Michaels said a
specially trained dog has searched three high schools and one
elementary school in the division over the past year. Crystal
methamphetamine and marijuana have been found.

"Kids don't get a heads-up," she said.

The dog search is done only if staff have reasonable grounds to
believe drugs will be found. Drugs found by the dog are given to
police for destruction. School officials and the students' parents
handle the punishment.

"Our goal is to keep our schools as drug-free as possible," Michaels
said. "Our parents and students expect safe and secure schools."

The dog that does all the searches -- his name is Billy -- is handled
by private investigation company Rogue Crew Investigations.

Jeff Bellingham of Rogue Crew Investigations has said he has several
clients besides the Brandon School Division in western Manitoba, but
that confidentiality agreements prevent him from talking about his work.

Bellingham is a retired police drug investigator with the Winnipeg
Police Service. Billy, a Belgian Malinois, is trained to American
Drug Enforcement Agency standards.