SNIFFING OUT TROUBLE

Our view: A law that would allow police dogs to sniff out drugs and
explosives at self-storage facilities deserves passage.

Sept. 11 got all of us thinking differently. Safety and security, for
example, have become more than just issues of passing interest. They now
top the national agenda.

They also are part of the agenda in Middletown, where officials are
considering a law that would allow police dogs to sniff out drugs and
explosives at self-storage facilities. If a dog hits on a unit from the
outside, police could seek a warrant to search the inside.

We like that sort of preemptive thinking and hope the township supervisors
put the law on the books. Encouragingly, at least one of the township's
self-storage owners welcomes the searches.

"We strive diligently to make sure all our customers obey the law and don't
store anything illegal and hazardous," said Bruce Manley of United
Stor-All. "We would be willing and active participants in anything that
would encourage people to obey the law."

That's good to hear. As we've witnessed in recent months, reasonable ways
to enhance security have run into unreasonable concerns about lost
liberties. At least nobody's raising those concerns in Middletown.

In fact, Supervisor Mel Kardos, a lawyer, doesn't see any constitutional
problems with the proposal. "The worst that could happen," he said, "is
that a search might be declared illegal and charges dismissed." In that
case, he added, "the materials would still be off the street."

That's the whole point. We hope nobody loses sight of it when the
supervisors bring their proposal up for a vote.