Sniffer dogs used in high schools

[Oz]

VICTORIAN schools are using sniffer dogs to stamp out playground drug deals.

 

SCHOOL principals are hiring sniffer dogs to pace their corridors in a bid to curb rampant playground drug dealing.

Detector Dogs Australia told the Herald Sun it has searched about 50 secondary schools in the past year – and found drugs in almost half.

The dogs sniffed out stashes of cocaine, speed and cannabis.

 

Government, independent and Catholic schools in Melbourne, Bendigo and Gippsland were among those to bring in sniffer dogs.

 

The Victorian Principals Association confirmed it knew of at least six state secondary school principals who had hired dogs during the past year.

 

"Schools are using sniffer dogs as part of a range of surveillance activities to ensure that they are as drug-free as possible," association president Andrew Blair said.

 

A Herald Sun Insight investigation into youth and drugs also revealed:

 

ALMOST half of 80 secondary students surveyed by Insight had seen drugs and drug deals at their school.

 

POLICE charge at least one young teenager a week with drug offences.

 

A 10-YEAR-OLD boy was among more than 2000 under-19s charged with drug offences in 2004-05.

 

AT least one teenager a week is charged with cultivating, manufacturing or trafficking drugs.

 

MORE than 1900 youths were treated by ambulance officers in 2004, including a 10-year-old and a 13-year-old who took ecstasy and LSD.

 

ABOUT five under-21s are treated for drugs each night in Melbourne.

 

YOUNG Victorians make more than 250,000 visits a year to mental health services, about 70 per cent suffering disorders related to drug abuse.

 

ALMOST half of offenders in juvenile detention centres were using drugs when they committed their last crime, according to an Australian Institute of Criminology survey.

 

THE survey also revealed almost 44 per cent of young burglars robbed homes to buy drugs.

 

Detector Dogs director Neville Williams said his dogs had searched some schools this year, including a northern suburbs private school on the first day back from holidays.

 

"On average, we probably go through four secondary schools a month throughout Victoria and we have found lots of drugs," he said.

 

Most kept the drug finds secret.

 

Mr Williams said two large cannabis stashes had been found inside school lockers in the past year – one at a top Melbourne school.

 

Drug dog searches cost about $300.

 

A spokesman for Education Minister Lynne Kosky refused to comment on the sniffer dogs.

 

And a Department of Education spokeswoman said the department was not aware of the practice.

 

Neville Williams, of Detector Dogs, said most drugs were found in lockers while students were in classrooms.

 

It was up to schools to decide how to deal with drug offenders identified during searches, he said.

 

"Once the dogs hit their target, we are out of there."

 

Principals Association president Andrew Blair said state schools usually had a number of anti-drug measures in place.

 

"Five years ago, principals would have been much more hesitant, but now they are prepared to consider sniffer dogs as an option," he said.

 

"I know of six schools who have used them in the past year as part of a range of surveillance activities."

 

The Catholic Education Office said it was unaware of school principals hiring sniffer dogs.

 

"The Catholic system is very autonomous so we wouldn't necessarily know if it is happening in Catholic schools or not," spokesman David Ahern said.

 

"It wouldn't surprise me because I heard of it happening in South Australia, when a few of the big schools did it last year."

 

Association of Independent Schools chief executive Michelle Green said she had never heard of sniffer dogs in private schools.

 

"I would be very surprised if I were told it was becoming a widespread practice," she said.

 

Several secondary students told Insight they would welcome sniffer dogs at their school.

 

Year 10 student Ellie, 15, from Greensborough, said sniffer dogs were a good idea.

 

"It would be good to have sniffer dogs searching school because then we would know that we were safe from drugs," Ellie said.

 

Matt, 15, a private school student from Montmorency, said sniffer dog searches would not bother him.

 

"I wouldn't care if dogs came to our school because I have nothing to hide," he said.

 

Author: Jane Metlikovec

Date: 09/03/06

Source: Herald Sun

Copyright: Herald and Weekly Times

[WantDaChronic]

its funny how none of the educational departments know of the sniffer dogs being used but the principals do as well as the police and students

 

i think keeping drugs out of schools is a good thing, but no dealers i knew at high school had lockers and kept their stashes always on them wether it was in their pockets or school bags. so i think these sniffer dogs are a waste of time unless they are being used all over the school grounds during recess and lunch times

 

a few years ago i would have totally disagreed with what they are doing, but as time goes by i have come to relise that most drugs, including marijuana, should be totally kept away from people under the age of 18 as they should be focusing on getting an education instead of getting high as their brains are still developing

[raverspec]

What a load of crap.

[naturalmystic]

Dam no more getting stoned before class and laughing at teachers

[flipster]

Year 10 student Ellie, 15, from Greensborough, said sniffer dogs were a good idea.

 

"It would be good to have sniffer dogs searching school because then we would know that we were safe from drugs," Ellie said.

 

Watch out Ellie! Those drugs will attack you if you turn your back for too long!

[pipeman]

god I wish I was smoking bud in high school. I enjoyed high school, but would have been even better smoking dope IMO.

[Budman2012]

Man ... Those dogs would of greened out as soon as they set paw inside the boundaries at our school ,

So maybe It was a bit excessive and 12-13 (thats nuthinthese days) smokin MJ , but that is what happened ...

For such a place , there were some very talented people , stoner or not , and It would be a bit hypocritical to say the kids shouldn't do that when half the teachers did too , man , I remember High School , sure there were fun times , But It was mostly a living hell I reckon. Its like your practice salvery prison. Well thats how I saw it (Too much DK maybe )

So , most of us didn't want to learn their dodgy shit lessons. Usually involving some boring peice of info being written on the blackboard and the students numbly writing it down and forgetting all of it by lunchtime.

Schools are just wrong Imo. They totally need to revamp the whole system.

If I had never been introduced to MJ in high school , I'd probly just be another hopeless slave consumer to the machine. So I'm glad I smoked it as a kid , It let me start forming my own opinions on things at that age rather than 6 years later , when arguably that would be too late , you are too used to the grind and you just accept it and eventually believe it. Seen It.

 

I wonder what will happen first , WW3 or a rebellion of the youth , I hope its the later , but I certainly don't hold my breath (Except when holding smoke ofc.)

 

Anyway , thats my ramble for sum reasons that I am unaware of at this moment.

Bye For Now

From Budman.

[bong_bitch19]

Vics goin up the shit! even more so.....is that even posible ...

 

but fuck baning bongs...sniffer dogs at schools...

 

fuck makes you think whats next????

 

 

 

Catch.

[stonedstump]

Year 10 student Ellie, 15, from Greensborough, said sniffer dogs were a good idea.

 

"It would be good to have sniffer dogs searching school because then we would know that we were safe from drugs," Ellie said.

 

Matt, 15, a private school student from Montmorency, said sniffer dog searches would not bother him.

 

"I wouldn't care if dogs came to our school because I have nothing to hide," he said.

 

Fucking little shits. No wonder the world the way it is with kids like this in our schools. "I'd know I was safe from drugs"-BE SAFE FROM THIS BITCH

 

And here we go, more rubbish..

 

"ALMOST half of offenders in juvenile detention centres were using drugs when they committed their last crime, according to an Australian Institute of Criminology survey."

 

Yeah, right. In other words they gave surveys to all the kids in juvenile detention and then the kids all ticked "Yes, I was high". Fucking hell, what do they expect?