drug search at school

[hahaRainbow]

Is this legal? my ds has come home from school (state comp) where (he says) during a science class, a teacher arrived announcing that 'this is a drug free school and now we are going to have the sniffer dogs in'.

Apparently the kids were then lined up while a dog ran up and down sniffing them and another dog sniffed the classroom.

of course I'm not happy about drugs at school but I do wonder about the legalities of this and what IF a kid had been caught.... am I wrong to be worried?

It's not an either or

I like that

Anyone who disagrees with what the OP describes is red hot keen on free and open drug dealing in all schools all the time , and for preference all children being as high as a kite at least 2 days out of every 4

Yes obviously

Pilchard
But this is the UK. What happens in other countries should not impact on upholding the law in this one.

Eve
I am very sorry about your brother. And yes, the pure batches that catch people out have an awful death toll.
If on the other hand he'd been able to go to a shop and purchase certified purity heroin he'd have been able to choose his dose with full information.

Add message | Report | Message poster PilchardPrincess Sat 14-Feb-15 12:50:09
I guess because if your uniform isn't right you aren't removed by the police there and then, pulled out of the line, and not seen back in the classroom again?
Really gives me the shivers.

Do you really think that is what would happen?

The dog will indicate (probably by sitting down)
The child will be pulled aside and asked why they think the dog indicated.
The child will then go with the teacher to another place - classroom, isolation room, somewhere private.
A search will be done.

If nothing is found, child will go back to class
If drugs are found the child's parents will be called and the police will take over.
Child may or may not go to the station, may or may not be charged, may or may not go to court, may or may not be excluded permanently.

All this will take time.

If the child had drugs and was excluded from school the other kids will know about it and know why it happened. They won't think they've been shepherded off to Gitmo never to be seen again

Yeah it was shit Talkin, and even worse he didn't take it by choice - he was an alcoholic and habitual cannabis user, but was injected by a dealer hoping to make another addict.

I can't see illegal drugs as anything but evil.

callooh, I've asked that question several times on this thread, but haven't had an answer.

I can't help some people are imagining the children lined up against a wall being drooled on by a slavering hound.

That's precisely why it's impossible to have a sensible discussion about it on this thread, soup.

Oh Eve

Me too soup slavery snarly attack dog with a uniform handler straining to hold the beast back where in reality it would have been a sniffy waggy tailed spaniel sniifing around them hoping to get to play with its ball

This is how scary drug sniffer dogs in the UK look
news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/64008000/jpg/_64008671_paddy_1(hi).jpg

(((( Eve ))))
What an awful situation.
But I still say that if your brother had been able to but his cannabis at the corner shop with his milk, he'd never have come into contact with the sort of lowlife who could do that to him.
Legalisation means regulation and control and removing the criminals from what is happening anyway.

The "war on drugs" has patently failed - cannabis is the same price in money that it was 25 years ago - which means that the real price has dropped 4 fold.

Colorado is now making enough money from its legalised cannabis they will be able to improve other aspects of social care with the funds.

Who on the thread doesn't know what sniffer dogs look like? If that's for me I've said more than once they have them at my work.

Pilchard
So what is your problem with them in schools?

The kids who were expelled from DCs school are still around- as they were sent to a neighbouring school and still live in the same house and go to the same shop.
They just have a rather nasty mark on their academic record.

Pilchard ! It is NOT terrifying to teenagers to have a drug search unless you are in possession ! Nor should they terrified when they are searched at festivals or airports. Anyway if it scares them into never touching drugs that is a GOOD THING !

A load of year 10's at my DC's school were searched by staff a while back. I did wonder briefly about the 'legality ' of it but it went on for a few days and some kids were caught in possession even after the first day. I did feel bad for the few that were permanently excluded ( there was evidence of dealing) as I felt they were to some extent scapegoats. But they were stupid enough to get caught bringing illegal substances into school !
This sent out a clear message to other kids - DD saw her classmate's life totally change the day she was expelled.
DS has been a drug user and I would have totally stood by school if he had been caught with anything in school. He would have been aware of the risk he was taking.
I would prefer school took a much harder line and be more open in being a 'drug free ' school. However the school does not want to advertise itself as a 'drug free environment' as it bring drugs to people's attention. I think attitudes need too change - school needs to stop trying to hide the issue. They are happy to have posters around about bullying so why not be more open about drugs in the same way. There is still so much denial around.
One of the teachers at my DC's school cites the smoking of weed by boys as the greatest factor causing boys' academic underachievement.
This is London btw.

I'm a teacher. I don't work in the UK anymore. I have been drug tested this year. The kids can be drug tested too. It's not a drama here.

Claybury
I hope yours is not the school that DH went to in London that had large cannabis plants in the bedding display outside the front doors ..... none of the teachers had noticed them

A complete non event in other countries, same as a fire drill. It's done to protect children ffs, what is the problem here? How many people would be complaining to the school if their kids were offered drugs on the premises. Fwiw, the lining up bit, my kids have been lining up at school since they were 3 for assembly, school trips etc and dont find it scary...

I wonder if some of the difference in opinion here is due to difference in attitude to "the authorities". The idea that children won't be scared if they haven't done anything wrong is based on the idea that the children will not have been treated unfairly or unkindly by "the authorities" in the past. Clearly some of them will, rising to many in some areas.

It is interesting that anyone who has disagreed is being spoken to about things they haven't said. eg TalkinPeace asked why I had a problem with sniffer dogs in schools when I have said throughout the thread that I do not have a problem with sniffer dogs in schools.

I find the lack of even attempting to engage with why others would have a problem with this a bit, I don't know. I'm right that's the end of it? Which I guess is not surprising from people who advocate this type of thing in schools.

My view is that in some communities and for some children it would do more harm than good, that drug use abuse sale etc is a complex problem which will need to be dealt with differently in different circumstances.

I can't see agreement on this as you all firmly believe I am wrong and while I have been trying to explain where I see problems arising from this, those points have not really been engaged with.

So that's it really. I think lining children up to be given the once over by the police in a classroom setting is problematical for a number of reasons, none of you do. Some others on the thread agreed that it was not on to the point they would remove their children from school if this happened. There is no firm right or wrong here, different actions have different consequences and with limited understanding of the full ramifications we can only present our views.

Hi - I think the relevant guidance to police is this - www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/117611/pace-code-a-2011.pdf (point 2), and to headteachers this - www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/279245/searching_screening_confiscation_advice_feb14.pdf (p6/7).

Both police and headteachers have the power to search individual students without consent IF they have reasonable grounds for suspicion that that individual student is holding a prohibited item on their person. Any pupil is well within their rights to withhold consent to be searched if there is no reason to suspect them as an individual of having drugs. Definitely the fact that it's known there've been drugs in the school is not enough to suspect any given random student. There has to be suspicion relating to that given individual and the suspicion has to be reasonable. And the fact of withholding consent is not allowed to be grounds for a suspicion to be formed. Students should be made aware of their rights.

It is both highly unethical and illegal for the school/police to make it seem like the search is compulsory. I doubt any conviction could come of an illegally conducted search as it's likely the court would exclude the evidence. I would be very unhappy about this. I'd write to the school/local police asking for clarification of the legal position.