As part of on-going efforts to ensure student safety, an Oakland County Sheriff’s K-9 Unit swept Oxford Middle School Feb. 26, but found no illegal substances.
‘We have scheduled periodic sweeps of the school by the Oakland County K-9 unit. They are unannounced to all staff (except for) administrators,? explained OMS Principal Kenneth Weaver. ‘The K-9 unit is usually called in to check for illegal substances. Typically, these dogs will (give an) alert (if there are) drugs and weapons (present).?
During the event, the school went into ‘lockdown? mode in order to keep the hallways clear of students and to help the dogs conduct their search, according to Weaver.
‘The Oakland County K-9 unit came in with eight dogs and handlers (and) we split them up throughout the school,? he said. ‘An administrator went to an area with two of the canines and handlers. When the dog (signaled an alert), the administrator conducted (a) search of the locker.?
‘Students were informed that their lockers were searched,? the principal noted.
Weaver said all areas of the building were searched and the dogs signaled alerts a couple times, but ‘subsequent searches revealed no illegal substances.?
‘The dogs are keenly sensitive, so sometimes they trigger an alert to particular smells on clothes, prescription medicine, etc,? he said.
At first, he said students were upset because they didn’t know what was going on, but at the end of the search, an announcement was mad so they knew that everything was all right and that the school was drug-free at that time.
‘Parents just got to keep talking to their kids about being drug-free,? Weaver said. ‘It works.?