School Security Plans Justified

Seeking to take a further bite out of crime on campus, two Ventura County school districts are considering hiring a private security firm to periodically check student lockers, backpacks and cars with dogs trained to sniff out drugs and firearms.

Should they decide to do so, Oxnard Union High and Oak Park Unified school districts would become the first in Ventura County to conduct such inspections. Oxnard Union trustees discussed the issue last week; Oak Park will take it up in the next month or two.

Although this measure would offer no defense against a violent outbreak such as last week’s Colorado tragedy, it could help school officials identify problem students and pursue the worthy goal of drug- and weapons-free campuses. Although we lament the need for such tactics, we support the school boards in taking this step if they believe it is the best use of that portion of their budget. We suggest a one-year trial run and urge the rest of the county’s schools to monitor the results.

Interquest Detection Canines, a Houston-based company with 20 years’ experience placing dog teams in schools and offices, already contracts with 130 school districts in California, including several in Los Angeles County. Its Labradors and golden retrievers are trained to detect marijuana, cocaine, heroin, methamphetamines, alcohol, a few medications and gunpowder--almost anything officials don’t want in their classrooms.

Dogs would not sniff the students, who would leave classrooms before the dog entered. If a dog signaled the presence of one of these substances in a locker, backpack or desk, the student would be questioned by school officials rather than police.

It may be true that, along with the metal detectors in use on many campuses, dogs could add to the gloomy feeling of many teenagers that they are prison inmates rather than high school students. But the experiment in Southern California schools should be seen in the light of growing concern.

What students do off campus is their parents’ responsibility. But on school property, school districts are well justified in taking this step as one of many efforts to help ensure students’ health, safety, alertness and compliance with the law. Students do have a right to privacy but that does not include bringing alcohol, other drugs or firearms on campus.