Intermediate school calls in drug dogs

Bag check: Pupils and their satchels will be targeted.

An intermediate school is calling in sniffer dogs to search children as young as 11 for fear drugs are finding their way into the playground.

Birkdale Intermediate, on the North Shore, has warned its parents and pupils that "drug dogs" will come to the school to carry out random checks.

A former policeman, now with a private firm, will come with the dogs on an unannounced date to check the pupils and their bags.

It is understood to be the first time an intermediate school has taken such strong measures, and one drug agency has criticised the precaution as heavy-handed.

Principal Richard Coote insisted yesterday that the school, with a roll of more than 600, did not have a drug problem and there had not been a drug-related suspension or disciplinary action for a long time.

But the school wanted to be proactive in the war on marijuana and other readily available drugs.

Mr Coote said it would be foolish of any school to believe it was immune to the threat of drugs making their way in.

"There have certainly been no incidents. We just want to reassure ourselves, the community and parents."

Sniffer dogs have occasionally been brought into secondary schools, but Bill Noble, president of the Association of Intermediate and Middle Schools, said it had not happened before at an intermediate school.

"It's a one-off situation, but no one would be stupid enough to say it [drug use] does not happen in these schools."

Mr Noble said most schools ran programmes warning students of the dangers of drugs, and he would support any proactive measure to drive the message home.

Owen Goodwin, chairman of Birkdale's board of trustees, said the spot-check would also have educational benefits.

"If there was the remote chance of a swarm of bees descending on the school, we would bring an apiarist to speak to the children.

"It's about being proactive and providing the safest and most caring environment we can."

There had been no negative reaction from parents or the wider community, said Mr Goodwin, who has two children at the school.

But the move was criticised yesterday by the Drug Foundation, which described sniffer dogs as an unnecessary scare tactic.

Ross Bell, the foundation's executive director, confirmed there were cases where children as young as 11 and 12 smoked cannabis.

They had usually found their parents' "stash", he said.

"But a scare tactic is not usually a good way of dealing with the problem and I'm surprised an intermediate principal would think it was."

Education was a more effective way of dealing with any drug-related problems, Mr Bell said.

That criticism was backed by Trish Grant, from the Commissioner for Children's Office, who said sniffer dogs could be a traumatic experience for some young children.

She also questioned the legal validity of the plan.

"If there are no reasonable grounds for suspicion then it would appear to breach Bill of Rights laws."

Reported incidents of intermediate-age children involved in drug use are few and far between.

In 1999 two adults faced charges after a 12-year-old at Dargaville Intermediate was found with cannabis.

A year later two 12-year-olds were suspended from Maeroa Intermediate in Hamilton on suspicion of smoking marijuana.

But another drug agency said there was steady growth in the use of drugs as they became cheaper and easier to get hold of.

Marijuana and alcohol remained the drugs of choice for younger people, but there was more and more amphetamine misuse, said Chris Kalin, chief executive of Odyssey House, who backed Birkdale's stance.

"Good on them for this initiative. Any strategy to identify and eliminate drug misuse, and raise awareness in an educational setting, is good news," she said.

Inspector Les Patterson, operations manager for North Shore police, said if the school had a drug problem, officers would visit with dogs, but police would not engage in random checks.