Police canines worth the try

While the idea of having police canines nosing around high schools

may seem extreme to some, the Huntington Beach Union High School

District has decided to bring back searches by drug-sniffing dogs on

local campuses.

The program was suspended several years ago due to lawsuits filed

in Northern California and other states by the American Civil

Liberties Union, claiming such searches were violations of students’

civil rights. It is being reinstated here at the request of

administrators and school resource officers.

The searches will be conducted at all seven schools in Huntington

Beach, Fountain Valley and Westminster. Police from all three cities

and Orange County Sheriff’s deputies will take part.

The dogs will be allowed to sniff around for drugs or weapons

stashed in lockers and cars, but not in backpacks or clothing. The

district prohibits that.

Police Chief Ken Small said the goal of the searches is

deterrence, not arresting students. “If we did this for years and

never made a single arrest, it would be a success, because that meant

our schools would be drug-free,” he said.

We agree. We also think the district ought to keep us and the

public in the loop about how successful the program is once it’s

reinstated. That information needs to be released whether there are

zero arrests or if school leaders are unpleasantly surprised by the

number.

Are drug-sniffing dogs on Huntington Beach campuses an ideal

situation? Probably not.

But you can be sure that at Red Lake High School in Minnesota --

where last month a 16-year-old fatally shot nine adults and students

before killing himself -- parents and students would gladly swap

their situation for ours.

It is a bitter reminder that schools are no longer the safe havens

they should be -- and must be again.

If occasional searches by dogs can help make that happen, it’s

worth a try.