RCS contracts with canine drug detection company
With teen drug use and shootings seemingly on the rise, the Russellville City School district is taking proactive measures to keep illicit drugs, prescription and over-the-counter medications as well as alcohol and firearms out of local schools.
RCS has entered into an agreement with Interquest Detection Canines to provide trained detection canines to conduct random, unannounced inspections at the middle school and high school levels.
Russellville High School Principal Jason Goodwin said it was Dr. Tim Guinn, RCS administrative assistant and former RHS principal, who initiated the idea for an agreement for canine detection services as a precaution at RCS – although, Goodwin added, drugs and other contraband items haven’t caused much of a problem at RHS.
“There will be things on school campuses you don’t find, but we have yet to have any type of drug recovery or anything this school year as far as drugs or drug paraphernalia,” Goodwin said. “We’re doing what it takes to keep kids from being exposed to this at school.”
The canines, which Goodwin said are Belgian Malinois, are trained to detect the presence of illicit drugs, prescription pills, over-the-counter medication, alcohol and firearms. On a random basis, Interquest Detection Canines will send a team to make a comprehensive search of campus buildings – including lockers, classrooms and hallways – as well as parking lots and grounds, to detect prohibited items. Goodwin said a search at the high school might take from two to four hours.
If illicit items are detected and found, appropriate disciplinary actions will be taken.
“We have a very detailed drug policy and recovery policy,” Goodwin said. “Every single kid in the high school received a handbook, and there is a page in the back of the handbook they must initial and bring back to us saying they have read the policy.”
As laid out in the handbook, drug and alcohol possession – or transfer, use or sale – is a Class III Major Offense. Consequences for such offenses begin with a conference between the principal and the student’s parents, followed by moving the student to an alternative program or progressing to voluntary withdrawal or expulsion. “The principal shall determine if law enforcement or other agencies should be contacted,” the handbook goes on.
If the principal and parents do not reach a mutually-agreeable resolution during the conference, the principal may suspend the student and recommend him or her for expulsion, pending due process.
Possession of a firearm or other weapons is also a Class III Major Offense, according to the handbook.
Possession or use of tobacco products is a Class II Intermediate Offense, with disciplinary measures ranging in severity for both the first offense and subsequent offenses, including various lengths and types of suspensions.
The detection canines, as explained by information from RCS, are non-aggressive and are trained to discriminate specific scents of contraband items. Goodwin said random searches will be made as often “as deemed necessary,” with the ability to increase or decrease the frequency based on what is judged appropriate by RCS.
Goodwin said one hope is that just knowing the random searches are a possibility will be a deterrent to students bringing contraband materials on campus.
“All parents want their kids protected,” Goodwin said. “The school environment is not the place for drugs. It’s my responsibility to make sure I keep the students safe and educate them, and I want to ensure I do what it takes to keep them safe.”
For more information on Interquest Detection Canines, visit their website at www.interquestk9.com.
