Council, Police Talk Drug Dogs at RUHS

The city of Redondo Beach took the next step Tuesday in allowing drug-sniffing dogs to check lockers and common areas at by receiving and filing a report on a proposed memorandum of understanding.

Redondo Beach Police Chief Joe Leonardi and Capt. Jeff Hink explained that the had approached the about allowing dogs trained in narcotics detection on the high school campus.

"The Police Department will work in collaboration with the district," Hink said.

The Board of Education voted 3-2 at the end of October, at the recommendation of the district's Drug and Alcohol Community Task Force, to bring drug-sniffing dogs to the high school campus. Since then, representatives of the district and the police department have worked together to draw up a memorandum of understanding.

The memorandum would dictate the terms of the program, including using the dogs in locker and open areas only and notifying students and parents of the program, among other elements.

According to City Attorney Mike Webb, the police would not conduct any searches of common areas and lockers; rather, the dogs would "alert" to an area that may have drugs, and district officials would search the area.

The dogs can smell and alert to marijuana, cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and opiate-based prescription medication, including Vicodin, Codeine, Morphine and OxyContin.

Hink estimated that once the memorandum of understanding was finalized, the dogs would be brought onto campus in about a month.

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