Board continues canine program

As school heads back into session Thursday, students considering

bringing drugs, alcohol or guns to school will continue to face the

deterrent of surprise visits from the highly trained

contraband-detecting dogs provided by Interquest Detection Canines.

The Burbank Unified School District board approved continuing a

contract with the company at its meeting on Aug. 17.

“It’s another layer of security for the kids and the staff at our

schools,” said Hank Jannace, the school’s director of pupil services.

“If we have the ability to have a canine on campus at any given time,

I’d think you’d be a little more reluctant to bring contraband on

campus.”

The dogs and their handlers make random visits to the district’s

high schools and middle schools, which cost a maximum of $400

depending on how long the visit lasted. According to Jannace, the

average visits costs about $200 dollars and each school is visited

about twice a month.

“We’d always wanted to have a real comprehensive program as a

deterrent to students abusing any substances and bring them on

campus,” said Burroughs High School Principal Emilio Urioste.

The district previously worked with the Burbank Police Department

to obtain canine detection services. They decided to contract with

Interquest in March of 2004 because Interquest could deal with the

needs of the district more directly and the dogs they provide,

generally of the Labrador breed, are more agreeable the school

environment.

“Police dogs are very aggressive and will scratch at an area,”

Jannace said. “These dogs are very passive, they’ll pass by an area a

number of times and sit by an area.

They can go a whole day, versus police dogs, which can only go a

few hours.”

During the random searches students leave their belongings in the

classroom or locker rooms and go to the library while the dog and its

handler patrol the rooms. If the dog alerts to an item, a school

administrator then searches the item for contraband.

While some drugs have been discovered, officials have mainly found

paraphernalia and residue of illegal substances, Jannace said.

“We’ve found some baggies of marijuana and some methamphetamine

but it’s mostly been paraphernalia, like pipes with old residue,”

Jannace said. “We haven’t had a dramatic, large bust. I’m glad. I

think it says something for our schools and hopefully the use of the

animals.”

Complaints about the searches have been minimal and parental calls

about the searches have mostly been out of curiosity, district

officials said.

“People are concerned about how we do the searches, they’re

inquisitive,” Jannace said. “Once they are informed, they’re

generally satisfied. They understand it’s about the protection of

their children, that’s the biggest thing.”

Prior case law, Education Code and Board Policy support the use of

the dogs on the campuses, Jannace said.

“I haven’t had anyone complain,” said Urioste. “We’ve gone to

great lengths to explain how searches operate. It doesn’t violate the

students’ rights how it occurs.”

The dogs are not allowed to go near students, and have been

trained not to do so.

Urioste described a demonstration, where employees from Interquest

placed an illegal substance in a metal container and put it inside

the jacket he was wearing. The Interquest dog did not go near him.

However, when the same container was placed inside of a backpack

across the room, the dog went straight to the backpack and sat down

next to it.

“What we did not want is a dog going up to a student and sniffing

student,” he said. “We’re not here to violate students rights.”

Parents have been informed about the program through a yearly

annual notification letter. The schools’ principals include

information about the program in their newsletters. Students also

attended an assembly on how the searches would be conducted.

“I believe that since they have been doing this, we have found

that we’re dealing with far fewer students that we encounter that

have an illegal substance,” Urioste said. “The word has gotten out,

that ‘Hey, these people are serious,’ and they know we want a clean

school and a safe school, so they’re not bringing these things on

campus.”

Urioste notes that even while the program seems to be an effective

deterrent it’s not the final solution to the problem of students

abusing drugs and alcohol.

“I want to get the kids’ help,” he said.

Urioste has conferences with the parents of students who have

contraband or even residue found in their belongings, and tries to

make sure the students receive the help they need, including

counseling and drug treatment programs.

“I want to make sure that the problem is dealt with and that we’re

not just putting a Band-Aid on the issue,” he said.