THEN AND NOW

THEN...

A controversial proposal to implement a drug-sniffing dog program in

the Newport Mesa Unified School District made headlines and airwaves for

months during the fall of 1994.

In establishing such a program, the district hoped to instill fear in

middle and high school students who might bring drugs onto campus. The

school district spent months debating the issue with concerned community

members, holding repeated public forums and hearing from residents during

school board meetings. The majority of those who spoke up supported the

concept, but those who opposed cited invasion of privacy and “witch

hunting” practices as reasons to abandon the idea. Finally, the board

voted 5-2 in favor of bringing the latest weapon in the fight against

drugs to Newport-Mesa’s campuses. The plan called for canine units from

the Newport Beach and Costa Mesa Police Departments to provide German

shepherds and Belgian Malinois twice a semester for unannounced school

visits. The district’s policy permitted the four-legged cops to whiff

lockers, bathrooms and cars but not personal belongings such as backpacks

or purses. The district formally unleashed man’s best friend in

February 1995.

Costa Mesa High School was the first campus searched, and it passed

with flying colors.

NOW...

Although the dogs generally work nights, they dutifully serve their

community by pulling overtime hours the mornings they are called in to

sniff around a campus. The program could be termed successful because

of what can be described as its lack of success. There have been only a

handful of “finds” the past four years. Marijuana has been the only

narcotic found so far, according to Lynne Bloomberg, coordinator of

Newport-Mesa Unified School District’s Safe and Drug Free School program.

Bloomberg said working with the two police departments created an

unforeseen opportunity for the schools and the police to develop a close

relationship. “We know each other,” Bloomberg said. “We know the face.

It isn’t just a phone number.” With the recent tragedies on campuses

nationwide, Bloomberg said, training the dogs to sniff for gunpowder or

explosives is a possibility.

“School safety is our main emphasis heading into the 1999-2000 school year,” Bloomberg said.

Bloomberg said the biggest misconception the public has about the use

of the dogs is that they resemble a “storm-trooping” unit.

“The Belgian Malinois are a very pretty reddish-brown dog and the

officer is in plain clothes,” Bloomberg said.

The dogs are brought on campus while the students are in class to

prevent the animals from becoming distracted.

“The students want to pet the dogs,” Bloomberg said. -- Amy R.

Spurgeon