Sniffing Out Drugs at Venice High

The principal of Venice High School and a parent committee will seek the school board’s approval on Tuesday for a one-year pilot program to use drug-sniffing dogs. While the golden retrievers or Labradors will be brought on campus primarily to sniff for illegal drugs in students’ book bags and lockers, the dogs also pick up the scent of gunpowder. Several other school districts throughout the state have implemented similar programs. High school students and Bud Jacobs, principal at Venice High School, spoke about the proposed program with MARY REESE BOYKIN.

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JASON HOCKENBURY

16, sophomore, Venice High School

There are more important concerns at Venice High School than drugs. Last year, there was a stabbing on campus. There have been shootings near the campus. I don’t understand why so much attention is given to drugs when many students fear for their lives.

I have always hated people searching me or my things. Last school year, there were random searches with metal detectors. If security had any suspicions, they would search your pockets. The use of dogs invades students’ privacy. But administrators must do what they have to do to keep drugs out of school.

I think this program will work because students will be afraid to bring drugs to school. It may completely stop drug use at school.

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ERDOLO EROMO

17, senior, Crenshaw High School

It’s all about respect. If students don’t respect authority, then school officials have to be more authoritative. So if students cannot be trusted on their own not to bring drugs to school, administrators must take the leadership to make schools drug-free.

I think the good thing about using the dogs is that students won’t feel harassed by school police officers who search them. While students are in class, the dogs can sniff the lockers.

But I think this program will work because students will think twice before bringing drugs on campus. They won’t hold drugs for friends. The clear message to students is that they can’t just walk on campus and smoke marijuana at nutrition break.

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LISA HILL

17, senior, Calabasas High School, Las Virgenes school district

If a drug or gun problem exists, it should be controlled in some way. But I think that the use of drug-sniffing dogs is a violation of students’ civil rights.

At Calabasas High, random classes were selected for the drug-sniffing. The kids were called out of classes as the dogs sniffed book bags. The dogs also sniffed the lockers and the parking lot. Any drugs in a book bag, including certain medications, were detected by the dogs and caused concern. The sniffing was an invasion into students’ personal lives.

If drugs are a serious problem on a school campus--destroying the learning environment, endangering everyone, making students feel nervous about attending school--some drastic action must be taken. In a situation like that, the rights of the majority to have a safe learning environment are more important than for a majority of students not to be searched.

But at Calabasas High, I don’t feel that there is a drug or weapon problem, or maybe just in isolated cases. The magnitude of the drug-sniffing searches was greater than the magnitude of the drug problem. The use of drug-sniffing dogs was, therefore, a violation of students’ civil rights.

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RONALD GONZALEZ

17, senior, Venice High School

Having the dogs sniff for drugs is going to be great. I think that it helps sometimes to check randomly for drugs and guns. Students who use drugs may at least stop using them at school. Possibly, there will even be more security on campus. It won’t just be the bad students who will be checked, but also the good ones; those who nobody is suspicious of will not get away with having drugs.

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CESAR ALVARADO

16, senior, Los Angeles High School

School is not a prison. Students come to school to learn. Dogs should not be used, but as long as the dogs do not sniff people, then maybe this program will be OK.

I have witnessed students bringing drugs to school. Sometimes, the drugs are kept in book bags; other times, in lockers. I think kids bring drugs to school to impress other students, to look cool.

Respect for schools has not stopped students from bringing drugs there. That doesn’t work. I have seen no other serious method that works. If students know drugs will be sniffed by dogs, they will be afraid to bring drugs to school.

The Principal’s View

BUD JACOBS

Principal, Venice High School

This is a tough issue because the use of dogs in policing is frequently a negative image. There are seeing-eye dogs and there are police dogs. These golden retrievers and Labradors are going to be our seeing-eye dogs--enabling us to see what may be there that we aren’t now seeing. The dogs can also detect gunpowder. No other school in the LAUSD is willing, like Venice High, to be first to try this.

The plan calls for two dogs to be on campus for one-half day visits, scheduled randomly. We have a 29-acre campus. Drug-sniffing dogs are used at some airports. Shouldn’t schools be as safe as airports?

Forty schools in California use this program. Culver City, La Mirada, Monterey and Temple City are among them. The drug-sniffing dogs are effective as a deterrent.

We don’t have a big drug problem; we are trying to keep a small problem from getting bigger. We want to move from zero tolerance to zero presence. That’s it. We want to make sure that there are no drugs on campus.

As principal, I plan to ensure that students’ rights are not violated by making sure that students are properly informed. There will be an assembly with students, information will be sent to parents, signs will be posted on campus.

The dogs do not sniff children. They sniff book bags, lockers, cars, desks. Their purpose is to detect. The dogs begin the process. School officials investigate further.