JUST SAY NO TO DRUG DOGS AT GIG HARBOR HIGH SCHOOL
As reported by the Peninsula Gateway, recently “drug-sniffing dogs from multiple agencies visited Gig Harbor High School” to sniff out any illicit drugs. What exactly did the dogs find? Upon searching a student’s car, “a trace amount of marijuana shake was found in the cup holders and center console area, but no quantity was located for destruction or booking, according to the Gig Harbor Police Department.”
“Trace amounts,” in one car, that’s it. So was treating every student at the school like a criminal suspect worth it? I think not.
Substance abuse by youth is a serious issue that has been ongoing for decades. Drug possession and use at schools isn't and shouldn’t be allowed. However, involving the criminal justice system at a school-wide level, in which all students are presumed suspect without any evidence of wrongdoing, is a bad idea. Some schools, such as the Nine Mile Falls School District north of Spokane, have seen the light and discontinued the use of drug dogs. Schools should be a place where students feel safe and secure and can learn in a nurturing environment. In the event that a student develops a substance abuse problem, it should be treated as a health issue, not a criminal one. Students struggling with addiction need medical help, not a trip to the juvenile detention center.
Unfortunately, the use of drug dogs in schools is increasing. This can only lead to more incidents such as the one that occurred at Stratford High School in Goose Creek, South Carolina in 2003. Watch for yourself:
As the video shows, students as young as 14 were terrorized by police with guns and drug-sniffing dogs in an early-morning SWAT raid. This horrific incident eventually led to a lawsuit by the ACLU.
The use of drug dogs and other “zero tolerance” policies are the wrong approach for dealing with drugs in schools. They can lead to disastrous consequences, such as the strip-searching of a 13-year-old girl in hopes of finding an ibuprofen pill (which she didn’t have BTW) or the suspension of a seventh-grader for merely touching another student’s ADHD medicine. We should be equipping our schools with proven treatment and prevention programs - and after-school programming to keep at-risk youth engaged with positive role models - instead of police and drug dogs.
We hope that Gig Harbor High School and Peninsula School District officials discontinue suspicionless drug dog searches.
It’s time to just say no to drug dogs in schools…
- Printer-friendly version |
- Like (70 Likes)|
- Send by email
Guilty until proven innocent
Thanks for getting the word out on police state tactics used on those who have done nothing wrong.
I worked at a local school district a while back. I was surprised to fine out that students were prohibited from using lockers installed when the school was built:
http://tinyurl.com/PublicSchoolLockers
Used to Go there...
Ridiculous, and NOT SUPRIZED.
Use of Dogs
So you think the use of the dogs is bad?? Here is a little story about my son and drugs at his high school in Wa State. His best friend has been using heroin in the high school, and oh by the way it is pretty common. He has specifically ask why they don't have dogs going through the school? Well I guess your article explains the reason. I am here to tell you dogs would prevent the use of drugs on school grounds. Also, screening students for the use of drugs would also prevent the use of drugs. We need to use all of the tools available to prevent teen drug use. High schools are not a place to preach your liberal policies, save that for the college campus where all concerned are adults.
drugs in school
I have to agree here about monitoring schools for drug use and actually testing students... This way, lots of problems could be avoided... Maybe some of the people who are against this policy should visit an alcohol treatment center and see how many youngsters are there for an alcohol addiction... which some people say it's nothing compared to a drug addiction... Really? We are talking here about under-aged persons with an alcohol addiction... Is that something normal nowadays? Statistics says yes, but I want to change that.
Drug-sniffing dogs
I would give anything if my youngest son's school would have used drug dogs. It certainly could possibly have saved my son and the rest of my family much heartache if we could have caught him while he was still just on alcohol and weed. Instead he (and his family) went through seven years of hell on earth while he was on heroine. I would not wish what I went through as "mom" on the most evil person is this world. The only way I survived was my faith in God and to truly believe that my son would be in the 3% to 5% of heroine addicts that get off and lead a successful life. My prayers were answered and my son is now a recovering heroine addict and has been drug free for 3 years and 4 months...is married and has a four-month old darling little girl.
For those of you that think your privacy is being invaded, please, reconsider that those dogs may be saving someone's life. I agree that searches must be done, but should be done in an appropriate manner. Your school must be one that is different from most other schools these days so be thankful for the good in it and continue to keep it that way.
Drug sniffing dogs
I am currently doing a research study to see why some offenses are reported to the police and some are not. I totally agree that dogs are a good idea. HEY, if your kid doesn't do drugs... you got nothing to worry about! I don't want the kids that do use drugs and alcohol (yes, lets admit that alcohol is an illegal drug to minors!!!!!!!), anywhere near my kid that doesn't! If it was my kid getting arrested, then yes, they should get in trouble! For some kids, that first contact with authorities scares them enough to if not stop, at least not bring drugs to school anymore. So yeah, if my daughter gets in trouble for having ibuprofen at school, the kid with marijuana better get in trouble too. I will try to get back to this issue when I have more information.
Thanks
Thank you for getting the word out on police state tactics used on those who have done nothing wrong.
This seems like an extreme case...
I'm not sure where the school shown in the video is or under what circumstances it was taken, but I have never seen anything like that.
My high school has regular drug dog inspections and they are usually quite calm. The handlers show up and ask for permission to search the room (teachers have the right to decline), students line up against the wall, leaving all belongings at the desks, and the dog does a loop around the class and back out the door. Never do they approach a student or search their person.
Again, I'm not sure if the laws in the area of the video are different, if the search was carried out inappropriately, or if it was a mixture of other circumstances. All I know is that drug dog programs can be stress-free and for the most part aren't disruptive. The dogs and handlers where I am usually only take about 10 minutes to do their thing and then leave.
You get a few minutes to
You get a few minutes to watch a child catch, throw, hit and run and the only sane way to maintain some sense of judgment is to ignore the names and faces and reduce ahcc it to a game of numbers. During that time in 2008, I saw one particular 9-year-old that I had not taken notice of in previous years. Unlike many of the other kids running around the field, his demeanor was all about work and his face showed a focus and determination I didn’t see elsewhere on the field.
I had the good fortune to
I had the good fortune to first meet Alec by chance three years ago, while serving as manager for a AA Gig Harbor Little League team. One of the tasks at the younger-age teams is having to draft the team fresh each year, and with that comes the often mind-boggling task of rating hundreds of kids during a daylong turnout.gynecologist Jasper GA
Post new comment