Shelter-in-Place, Canine Search of WMS Tuesday Morning

At approximately 9:15 Tuesday morning, the Middlesex County Sheriff’s Office K-9 Unit, in cooperation with the Wilmington Police Department and the Wilmington Public Schools, conducted a shelter-in-place and canine search of Wilmington Middle School for the purpose of detecting narcotics

A joint press release issued by both the School Department and Police Department said all common areas and lockers were searched in accordance with proper legal procedures and the Wilmington School Committee Policy JIK, Use of Dogs to Search School Property. This shelter-in-place and search drill was the result of extensive planning with school and police personnel and every effort was made to minimize the disruption to instruction. The process took approximately 20 minutes.

“Our continued goal in our schools is to provide a safe environment for your children; where they are not exposed to unlawful and harmful activities such as possession, use or abuse of drugs or alcohol,” said Superintendent Mary DeLai and Police Chief Michael Begonis in the statement issued Tuesday morning. 

The canines that were used today are trained to search for illegal narcotics. They are part of a highly skilled K-9 unit that conducts school searches throughout Eastern Massachusetts. Similar drills have been held in the last few years at schools in North Reading, Reading, and Melrose.

During the search, no alerts were discovered in the school. An “alert” occurs when canines are able to detect an odor consistent with illegal narcotics.

The School Department will continue to work with the Wilmington Police Department to monitor the issue of illegal substances on campus and will authorize a repeat search if we feel it would help in our efforts to maintain a positive learning environment.

“We hope that you will understand our position on this issue and will be supportive of our proactive steps to maintain a safe school environment,” said Superintendent Mary DeLai and Police Chief Michael Begonis in the statement.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Superintendent of Schools Mary DeLai at 978-694-6000 or Police Chief Michael Begonis at the Wilmington Police Department at 978-658-5071.