Sniff Searches of School Lockers OKd

A team of 10 police dogs and officers will begin random searches of Simi Valley high school lockers before the end of the school year in an attempt to root out drugs on campus, school officials have decided.

The Simi Valley Unified School District board voted 4 to 1 Tuesday night to bring the canine units on campus during class hours and without notice to the students.

Several students angrily denounced the proposal before the school board, claiming the dogs and officers would make their school seem like a prison and that it violated their constitutional rights to privacy.

Board members also raised concerns about student rights and the possibility of lawsuits, delaying a vote on the issue three weeks ago.

But a legal opinion provided by the Los Angeles law firm Liebert, Cassidy and Frierson said that dogs sniffing lockers does not constitute a “search” under the 4th Amendment to the Constitution, and therefore does not violate students’ rights.

In a concession to board members concerned about liability issues of bringing police dogs on campus, the animals will be kept on leashes.

In addition, when the program is evaluated in May to determine whether it should continue, students and staff will join administrators in the discussion, Supt. Mary Beth Wolford said.

Students at Simi Valley High School are also forming a committee to look for ways to deter students from using drugs, she said.

“That’s a very good outcome,” Wolford said.

Under the proposal, the officers will periodically bring dogs on campus as part of a training exercise for the animals and at no cost to the district.

When a locker is identified as carrying drugs, administrators will note the locker number and return to open lockers in the presence of the student.

Board member Debbie Sandland said, however, that bringing police dogs on campus would only create resentment among students.

“It’s just not a good way to build trust and confidence and encourage our kids to make good decisions for themselves,” she said.

In addition, she said, it does not help students with drug problems to find solutions.

“If we really want to mediate the drug problem, we need to do a lot more than this,” Sandland said.