11 drug sweeps, little dirt - PittsburghLIVE.com About 30 police cars pulled up in front of Sto-Rox High School within minutes of each other Tuesday morning. The school was locked down while officers and drug-sniffing dogs searched lockers and classrooms for about 90 minutes.Where is the accountability?
The drug sweep coordinated by the Allegheny County Sheriff's Office and involving 10 police departments netted no arrests and no contraband. In fact, police have arrested only one person as a result of 11 such searches at area schools this school year.
If this is going to occur, results are needed. But the operations are being foiled. The invasion is heavy handed. So, where are the justifications?
The Homeschooling option looks more and more viable for a greater number of children and families when these instances occur.
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11 drug sweeps, little dirt
By Rick Wills TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Wednesday, April 13, 2005
About 30 police cars pulled up in front of Sto-Rox High School within minutes of each other Tuesday morning. The school was locked down while officers and drug-sniffing dogs searched lockers and classrooms for about 90 minutes.
The drug sweep coordinated by the Allegheny County Sheriff's Office and involving 10 police departments netted no arrests and no contraband. In fact, police have arrested only one person as a result of 11 such searches at area schools this school year.
Police and school officials said they cannot put a cost figure on the searches. The arrest totals and drug seizures aren't the most important factors, they said, because the searches are valuable as a deterrent.
Students and teachers at Sto-Rox, even the school's neighbors, were alarmed by the officers' arrival about 9:30 a.m. Only the school's principal was aware of the impending sweep.
"I have never seen anything like this," said Ruth Donnelly, who lives across Valley Street from the school in McKees Rocks. "My own dog started going crazy with all those dogs out there."
The sweep caught students by surprise.
"We still do not know what is going on," junior John Hack, 17, shouted out the window while the school was under lockdown. "The security guards just started hollering and telling everyone to get into the classrooms."
Robert Chambers, a deputy with the Allegheny County Sheriff's Department, which coordinates the searches outside Pittsburgh, said the canine unit searched schools only four times in the 2003-04 year. At least three more are scheduled this school year.
Avonworth, Pine-Richland, Carlynton and North Hills also requested searches this year. The department has coordinated multiple searches at Montour High School and Emsworth's Holy Family Institute.
The one arrest this year was of a Carlynton student who took something out of his locker and ran from the building. He ditched the item before officers caught him, Chambers said. Search dogs found a crack pipe in a classroom at Montour High School, he said.
Participating departments include state police, Ross, Evans City, Kennedy, Robinson, Indiana Township, West Deer, Allegheny County Housing Authority, Scott, Ohio Township, Mt. Lebanon, McKees Rocks, Stowe and Leetsdale.
"No matter where you go to school, we are against drugs," said Frank Marciw, Stowe police chief. "It's for everyone's safety -- we have a good school and some good kids."
Other districts that have used drug-sniffing dogs to search say the searches are effective deterrents.
"Typically, these searches are not done in response to any one event," said Tina Vojtko, a spokesman for the North Hills School District, which had a search last month.
North Hills has searches at least once a year, Vojtko said. Nothing has ever been found.
Searches at Pine-Richland have not turned up anything significant, district spokeswoman Judi Boren said.
"But we are not going to stop doing it because we are not finding anything," she added.
Boren said the searches are unannounced, and "everyone is highly attentive."
Hampton, Fox Chapel Area, Mars Area, Shaler Area, Plum, Mt. Lebanon, Moon Area and Bethel Park are among districts that use drug-sniffing dogs, although not necessarily as part of the sheriff's department program.
Rick Wills can be reached at rwills@tribweb.com or (724) 779-7123.
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