Lockdown! — The Drug War Goes To Kindergarden With Police Dogs?
	found on: Washington Post written by Philosawyer, edited by John (Plastic) [ read unedited ] posted Sat 27 Jul 7:33am
		After the principal announced a "lockdown" over a loudspeaker... students were instructed to remain in their seats with their hands on their desks and to avoid making sudden movements when the dog passed them. "No, this wasn't a security measure taken in a prison," Philosawyer writes, "but rather the latest approach to policing elementary school children: 'In one kindergarten class, the dog escaped from its handler and chased screaming children around the room.' As schools look for legitimate ways to address drug and alcohol abuse, we need to be vigilant against the war on drugs becoming a war on our youngest children....This incident could only occur in an environment that places the war on drugs over common sense. "The school board approved the suspicion less search along with the Wagner Chief of Police and an official with the Indian Affairs Bureau of the U.S. Department of the Interior. Could they really have thought about this at all? Did these authorities actually have reason to believe that a drug problem existed in Kindergarten and that police dogs were a good way to investigate? Are there any ACLU critics out there willing to defend the school on this one?

	(continued) "It seems highly likely that these actions will be found unconstitutional. However, the Supreme Court left the door open to more restrictions after approving suspicion less drug tests of all high school students wishing to participate in sports or extracurricular activities. Not too long ago I would have thought that such a story was probably a hoax copied from the likes of the Onion. I am afraid to guess what the next step may be."

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show almost all: 13 commentsbest: 7 comments by oldest first (ignore threads) newest first highest scores first oldest first newest first (ignore threads)

1.  There's only one thing left to do...   by JusBillek       at Sat 27 Jul 7:51am score of 2.5 astute     In order to keep kids from doing, seeing, or thinking about drugs, we need to gently and loving execute them before they are old enough to understand that something called a "drug" exists. Anyone that cares about their children realizes that this is their only choice. Magnae clunes mihi placent, nec possum de hac re mentiri.   [ ...reply just to this | comment on the story... | next new ]

2.  Suspicionless searches for high school kids ...   by MAYORBOB       at Sat 27 Jul 8:01am score of 2 interesting     is highly questionable, but I guess can be justified with the rationale that there is a need to ensure that none of the high school students are attempting to supplement their allowances by peddling drugs to their fellow students. That is a rationale; I didn't say it was a good one or one that is compelling enough to justify the total abrogation of right to privacy that a student might believe they should have. But a lockdown, suspicionless drug search of kindergarten students? No fucking wonder the War on Drugs has become a rather expensive bad joke. I'm with Philosawyer; stories like this mean that the line between satire and reality no longer exists. Tending to final details.   [ ...reply just to this | comment on the story... | next new ]

3.  Now children,   by NikTheEngineer       at Sat 27 Jul 8:05am score of 2 funny     can anyone spell 'unconstitutional'? Thomas, can you spell it? What? Oh, you're taking the fifth amendment... If a little knowledge is dangerous, where is the man who has so much as to be out of danger? - Thomas Henry Huxley.   [ ...reply just to this | comment on the story... | next new ]

4.  Citizen action may be the best answer   by ddp42       at Sat 27 Jul 8:08am score of 2 astute     It's getting harder and harder not to respond with profanity to the events in the stories posted on Plastic. The very concept of a "lockdown" in an elementary school provides a good picture of how school authorities are viewing their positions. At this point, it doesn't look as if citizens can hold out much hope for help from our judicial system (e.g., the Supreme Court's ruling on drug testing in schools), so it's really going to come down to direct citizen action. The article notes that "The search was conducted on two separate days in May...." If every parent who is opposed to this kind of thing had marched on the school or called up a newspaper or made some other public display of their protest, maybe there wouldn't have been a second search day. The thing is, it's probably going to have to happen at some suburban school where parents are in a better position to make their outrage known (i.e., less intimidated by authority figures, financially able to take time off work, confident enough to write letters to the editor, etc.). Let it happen here in Durham, NH - I'm marching! The ways things are going in this country of late cries out for active protest - push far enough and it will come. Too bad it has to come to that. Not all flowers open in the morning.   [ ...reply just to this | comment on the story... | next new ]

10.  Re: Citizen action may be the best answer   by madamimadam       at Sat 27 Jul 2:14pm score of 1   in reply to comment 4     Hmm, another argument for vouchers perhaps?   [ ...reply just to this | comment on the story... | next new ]   12.  Re: Citizen action may be the best answer   by ddp42       at Sat 27 Jul 4:56pm score of 1   in reply to comment 10     True that vouchers might permit a move to another school, but I'd rather try to transform the place my kids were at first. There's a point at which you may have no choice but to simply abandon the situation and escape to a better one (assuming we will always have a better choice to run to), but the older I get, the more l seem to prefer to stand and fight. At least for a while. Not all flowers open in the morning.   [ ...reply just to this | comment on the story... | next new ]

5.  These children will be scarred for life.   by Militant Elvis       at Sat 27 Jul 8:14am score of 2.5 brilliant     When they are 15 they may not remember why they feel uncomfortable around policemen. The mental echoes of a police dog chasing them around WILL effect the way there interact with law enforcement, just as a bad encounter with when a very young child causes dislike of anything related to when the person becomes an adult. Someone ought to be horsewhipped. I suspect that you have very little hands-on knowledge of rape. --davidpalter   [ ...reply just to this | comment on the story... | next new ]

6.  Teach 'em young   by bitflip       at Sat 27 Jul 8:56am score of 2 compelling     That's the way to do it. Let the children know, right up front, that if they have anything to hide, they'd better be good at hiding it. The earlier they learn this lesson, the better it will be ingrained, and the better they'll be at it. Teach them to distrust and fear authority figures, so that they'll have nothing to do with them in the future. Let them know that even if they're playing by the rules, the Man will still step on their necks. After all, these are our future CEOs, Presidents, and clergymen. I'm not psychotic. I'm disturbed.   [ ...reply just to this | comment on the story... | next new ]

7.  Crossing The Line!   by armaxmore       at Sat 27 Jul 9:41am score of 1.5 astute     This story along with the videotaped beating of an Inglewood Youth are another signs that any suspension of civil liberties is a dangerous move. In addition, constitution rights of students do not stop once they enter the schoolhouse. Parents need to teach their kids the constitution and rights that protect them. The bigger question we need to ask is when will we stop employing zero tolerance policy that have zero common sense? Talk is Cheap! Free Speech Isn't!   [ ...reply just to this | comment on the story... | next new ]

8.  i doubt that this   by 1fastdog       at Sat 27 Jul 10:41am score of 1     would've happened in an upper middle/high income school district. Or a predominantly white district for that matter. To many influential parents in districts like those for authorities to risk that kind of unconstitutional maneuvering on. So we've got hints of racism, classism, unconstitutionality, and scare tactics on kindergardeners. All of which the officials that allowed this search should have been well aware of; and yet they still let this continue. Why? I don't see anyone involved benefiting here. Unless there's a huge piece of the puzzle missing, I'm going to assume that these people will be finished when the ACLU gets done with them. Tipping The Bottle & Biting The Lime   [ ...reply just to this | comment on the story... | next new ]

9.  Blue Alert   by indiaink       at Sat 27 Jul 1:55pm score of 1     This type of search did occur in the some of the middle and high schools in the area that I attended high school. They were called "Blue Alerts". Basically when a blue alert was called all the students were to go into the classrooms and the police then did a walk through with drug sniffing dogs. The main difference between this and what happened in the story above was that the dogs did not come in contact with the students but instead were used to pinpoint "suspicious" lockers. If the dog indicated a specific locker it was immediately opened and searched. My own high school did not use this method but the lockers were being randomly searched throughout the year. We always joked that you could tell when someone had searched your locker because they tended to clean it up and organize it while they were at it. "Warning: Please exercise caution- mask and chest plate are not protective; cape does not enable wearer to fly."   [ ...reply just to this | comment on the story... | next new ]

11.  Playing Devil's Advocate   by ahalavais       at Sat 27 Jul 3:00pm score of 2 astute     Not to say that I support the school in this, but... In many ways, public schools are separate for the city in which they are stationed, almost a local government onto themselves. They are legally allowed to restrict motion of students, impose restrictions upon free speech, and punish certain infractions with the youthful equivalent of jail time (detention). The problem is that the community doesn't directly elect the school's principal. The solution is, of course, private or, even better, home schooling, but that is not feasible for everyone. But, it is time to seriously reform the school system when a principal's responce to news of a assault on a student, merely because he was gay, was (and this happened at my high school; I quote), "If you think that's bad, you should see what the Nazis would do." Even with the school in the clear legally to perform this search, I must question the use of possibly violent animals in a classroom. Schools are liable for any and all injuries on school grounds unless a release is signed by the parents, and I for some reason suspect that the parents were not informed of this beforehand.   [ ...reply just to this | comment on the story... | next new ]

13.  Conditioning   by ogkennyhobo       at Tue 30 Jul 2:04pm score of 1     There is a clear motive for searches like these. It is not an attempt to find drugs, but rather a means of conditioning our youngest to police searches. By accustoming children to this type of unconstitutional action, they will be used to the searches by the time they are adults. It is simply another attempt to turn this country into the Orwellian police state that Bush and his like-minded thugs want.   [ ...reply just to this | comment on the story... | next new ]