Pubdate: Fri, 23 Mar 2007 Source: Sparta Independent, The (NJ) Copyright: 2007 Straus Newspapers Contact: http://www.strausnews.com/sparta_independent/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4455 Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth) SURPRISE! DRUG DOGS SWEEP SPARTA HIGH SCHOOL'S CAMPUS Sparta -- Students were surprised Tuesday morning when teams of law enforcement officers from the Sussex County Canine Division, Sussex County Sheriff's Office, and Sparta Police showed up at Sparta High School and began a thorough search of the building and grounds. At approximately 7:45 a.m., Principal Richard Lio ordered a full lock-down of the school. Six classrooms were randomly selected and students were sent to wait in the auditorium and leave all belongings in their rooms. The classrooms were then searched by one drug dog while another swept the school parking lots, as well as all lockers in the building. No drugs were found in the building or on the premises and Lio said he was very pleased with the procedure. He said, "From a security perspective, the lock-down was flawless. The staff performed as trained and the students responded cooperatively and calmly." The school was locked down for a total of 40 minutes. The search was part of the school district's effort to crack down on potential involvement with drugs among Sparta's young people, through stiffer enforcement and continuing education. Lio said he hopes to send a strong message that drugs in the schools will not be tolerated. A letter to parents went home with high school students last week in which he said, "Driving down drug use is a key priority for the Sparta School District. To this end, I have contacted the Sussex County's Prosecutor's office and the Sparta Police Department to ask if they would consider doing a 'suspicion-less' canine sweep of Sparta High School. They indicated that a search could be a possibility, but that the prosecutor's office, not the school, would determine the date, time, and duration of the sweep." Only Lio and Superintendent Dr. Thomas Morton had discussed contacting the prosecutor's office and only they were informed that the sweep would be Tuesday morning. Lio said, "Studies demonstrate that adolescence is a critical period for determining a person's risk for drug dependency. Young people who initiate drug use early in their teen years are at a high risk for dependency." Morton said he's certain that whatever drug use may exist among Sparta High School students, it is certainly not to the degree of use found in the majority of high schools. "It's nowhere near," he said, "and frankly, it's probably much less than in most schools. But any drug use at all is unacceptable and we are committed to addressing any problem that may exist with every resource available to us, including the presence and intervention of law enforcement and continuing drug education through the curriculum." Morton said he was very pleased with the response and assistance from the Prosecutor's office, the canine squad, and the Sparta Police. He said the district means business in this matter and that, "Another search could happen again, at any time in the future." - --- MAP posted-by: Jo-D