Reproduced here for fair use and discussion purposes. My comments in bold.
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(I'm troubled by this article. On one hand the schools have a legitimate interest in controlling the flow of drugs into the schools. On the other hand, where is the line drawn regarding a person's expectation of being secure in his person and property?)
Jetta loves her job.
The 5-year-old black Labrador retriever gets excited whenever she’s called on to search for illegal drugs, alcohol, weapons or medications, says handler Dennis Jones, owner of Interquest Detection Canines of Montana.
“She turned out to be an amazing little dog,” Jones said. “She wants to work.”
Jetta made her first unannounced visit to Bozeman High School last month to search classrooms and lockers.
Principal Ken Gibson said it went “great.”
“We have a lot of people
complaining that drugs are everywhere in our building,” Gibson said. In the
past, law enforcement dogs have searched the school occasionally. But they’re
trained to sniff one locker at time, he said, not to go through a whole line
of lockers.
Jetta “alerted” several times at Bozeman High, Gibson said, but “every one was explainable.” For example, the dog found what turned out to be an Excedrin in a purse. (So the search went "great," but every alert was a false alarm? ) Either Bozeman High students are being careful to avoid bringing illegal things to school, “or school is not as bad as what they think,” Gibson said. (Or maybe the dog missed all the drugs. After all, it has a zero success rate.)
More searches are planned — next at Bozeman’s two middle schools, Jones said. He didn’t want to reveal the date.
Jetta “alerted” several times at Bozeman High, Gibson said, but “every one was explainable.” For example, the dog found what turned out to be an Excedrin in a purse. (So the search went "great," but every alert was a false alarm? ) Either Bozeman High students are being careful to avoid bringing illegal things to school, “or school is not as bad as what they think,” Gibson said. (Or maybe the dog missed all the drugs. After all, it has a zero success rate.)
More searches are planned — next at Bozeman’s two middle schools, Jones said. He didn’t want to reveal the date.
All three Bozeman schools held assemblies in December to
introduce Jetta and her fellow search dogs to students, to demonstrate the
dogs’ abilities and friendliness, and to warn students there will be
unannounced searches.
Asked if anyone complained that search dogs smacked of a police state, Gibson said he heard from one upset parent worried about illegal searches. Gibson explained that the dogs only search school-owned property — classrooms, lockers, hallways and parking lots — and don’t sniff students, which would require a specific “reasonable suspicion.” (Reasonable Suspicion a lower standard of proof than Probable Cause. These kinds of terms are applied to what a law enforcement officer is allowed to do regarding detaining or searching a person. So is it reasonable to use dog-provided evidence when that evidence is 100% faulty? Further, this is a private security company providing its services. What authority does it operate under? Is it held to the standards of conduct required of law enforcement, and is it trained in those standards? Can it arrest people?) “I heard more kids say they’re glad they’re here, or ‘cool,’” Gibson said. (Um, yeah. The opinions of kids carry more weight than the reasonable concern of an adult?)
Asked if anyone complained that search dogs smacked of a police state, Gibson said he heard from one upset parent worried about illegal searches. Gibson explained that the dogs only search school-owned property — classrooms, lockers, hallways and parking lots — and don’t sniff students, which would require a specific “reasonable suspicion.” (Reasonable Suspicion a lower standard of proof than Probable Cause. These kinds of terms are applied to what a law enforcement officer is allowed to do regarding detaining or searching a person. So is it reasonable to use dog-provided evidence when that evidence is 100% faulty? Further, this is a private security company providing its services. What authority does it operate under? Is it held to the standards of conduct required of law enforcement, and is it trained in those standards? Can it arrest people?) “I heard more kids say they’re glad they’re here, or ‘cool,’” Gibson said. (Um, yeah. The opinions of kids carry more weight than the reasonable concern of an adult?)
Jones, former vice principal at Polson High, got the Interquest
Canines 11 years ago. He and his dogs travel hundreds of
miles each week, from Montana to the Dakotas and Wyoming, from schools to oil
rigs and prerelease centers.
Rather than using German shepherds that are trained as police narcotics dogs or attack dogs that bite, Jones said Interquest uses peoplefriendly hunting dogs, like Labs and golden retrievers. They don’t come in like a
SWAT team or treat all students like felons, he said.
Interquest dogs are trained to alert to illegal narcotics (meth, marijuana, heroin, cocaine, Ecstasy and LSD); alcohol (beer, wine, whiskey, even hard cider); gunpowder (guns, ammunition, explosives, fireworks, spent
bullets); and medications (over-the-counter and prescription, including OxyContin).
“It’s a game of hide and seek for the dogs,” Jones said. (Ms. Schontzler, the author of the article, shifts attention from the legal issues to how cute the dogs are...)
His dogs recently found in a central Montana middle school what looked like a large ballpoint pen that could shoot a .22-caliber bullet. The dogs can find an unopened can of beer in a locker, or a jacket with the
lingering smell of marijuana smoke.
The cost to schools is $650 for a full day.
Jetta, born in Michigan, was so hyperactive and prone to biting that her owners were going to euthanize her. A new owner got her at 5 months old, but four months later put her up for sale on Craigslist. An Interquest
trainer in Michigan took Jetta before she could be put to sleep, and that changed her life.
“This is one smart little dog,” Jones said. “She’s extremely fast.” As soon as he puts on Jetta’s harness, the cue that a search is about to start, “she gets turbo charged.”
“We want kids to feel comfortable with the dogs, but uncomfortable bringing stuff to campus,” Jones said. “We think it helps create a more safe environment for students.” (I can understand the deterrent angle. That makes sense. But the legal ramifications of proper searches, chain of custody of evidence, and what authority a non-officer possesses are troubling.)
Gail Schontzler can be reached at gails@dailychronicle.com or 582-2633.
Rather than using German shepherds that are trained as police narcotics dogs or attack dogs that bite, Jones said Interquest uses peoplefriendly hunting dogs, like Labs and golden retrievers. They don’t come in like a
SWAT team or treat all students like felons, he said.
Interquest dogs are trained to alert to illegal narcotics (meth, marijuana, heroin, cocaine, Ecstasy and LSD); alcohol (beer, wine, whiskey, even hard cider); gunpowder (guns, ammunition, explosives, fireworks, spent
bullets); and medications (over-the-counter and prescription, including OxyContin).
“It’s a game of hide and seek for the dogs,” Jones said. (Ms. Schontzler, the author of the article, shifts attention from the legal issues to how cute the dogs are...)
His dogs recently found in a central Montana middle school what looked like a large ballpoint pen that could shoot a .22-caliber bullet. The dogs can find an unopened can of beer in a locker, or a jacket with the
lingering smell of marijuana smoke.
The cost to schools is $650 for a full day.
Jetta, born in Michigan, was so hyperactive and prone to biting that her owners were going to euthanize her. A new owner got her at 5 months old, but four months later put her up for sale on Craigslist. An Interquest
trainer in Michigan took Jetta before she could be put to sleep, and that changed her life.
“This is one smart little dog,” Jones said. “She’s extremely fast.” As soon as he puts on Jetta’s harness, the cue that a search is about to start, “she gets turbo charged.”
“We want kids to feel comfortable with the dogs, but uncomfortable bringing stuff to campus,” Jones said. “We think it helps create a more safe environment for students.” (I can understand the deterrent angle. That makes sense. But the legal ramifications of proper searches, chain of custody of evidence, and what authority a non-officer possesses are troubling.)
Gail Schontzler can be reached at gails@dailychronicle.com or 582-2633.
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