Police canines doing more than just sniffing for drugs.

Byline: LARRY BACON The Register-Guard

NORTH BEND - The marijuana, sealed almost air-tight inside a plastic envelope not much bigger than a business card, has been in Locker 22 at North Bend Middle School for only a few minutes.

In such a short time, not much odor has developed, so it's a real challenge for the female black Labradors, Gracie and Cutter, to sniff out the drug.

Tail wagging, tongue out and obviously enjoying her favorite game, 18-month-old Gracie works her way down the row of lockers without detecting the marijuana. Then Cutter, a calmer, more experienced 8-year-old, gives it a try.

As she passes Locker 22, Cutter's head turns sharply and she doubles back. Her sniffer accelerates to vacuum cleaner speed. Then she gives the alert sign - digging at the bottom of the locker with her two front paws.

The marijuana, placed for exercise purposes, is extracted. And finally comes the reward - a chance to chew on a rolled-up white towel presented by Cutter's handler, Rodger Craddock, a Coos Bay police officer assigned to the Coos Bay School District.

"The big difference is, she's been doing this a long time," Craddock says, explaining Cutter's success.

The handlers of the Labradors believe they are the only drug-sniffing dogs in Oregon assigned full time to school resource officers. Both dogs have a proven track record of finding hidden drugs.

Craddock and Cutter spend most of their time at Coos Bay's Sunset and Millicoma middle schools; Mike Olson, a North Bend police officer, and Gracie are headquartered at North Bend Middle School.

Although dogs work at the schools, officials say the districts don't have more severe drug problems than elsewhere. In fact, the dogs' presence is, in part, happenstance.

Olson, a school resource officer for three years, was assigned four months ago to be the handler for Gracie, a new dog with the department. Craddock, a canine handler for three years, was rotated into the school resource job this year and took Cutter with him.

Both school districts have utilized drug-sniffing dogs before, but the animals were never in schools full time.

The two officers and their dogs help investigate off-campus crimes involving drugs, and the dogs handle routine locker-sniffing duties at other schools.

The officers and school administrators see the dogs' presence in the schools as a plus. Not only do the dogs serve as a constant reminder to students of the possibility of getting caught if they bring drugs to school, they also help officers get closer to students.

"There were lots of kids who were stand-offish who knew me before," Olson says. "But when I have the dog they will come up to me. They want to see her and pet her." And before long, he says, such kids will greet him in the hallway even if he doesn't have the dog. Olson also believes that students are more likely to talk to him about personal problems.

North Bend Middle School Principal John Franzen says the mission of the school resource officer is to help provide a safer school and build rapport with students.

"The dog has been a real addition to that mission here," he says.

Franzen and the principals at the two Coos Bay middle schools say the dog program has solid support from parents and most students - except for the few who are into drugs.

So far this year, Olson says his work with Gracie has produced no finds of drugs in schools. Craddock says he and Cutter have five finds - the most recent just off the school grounds in a spot he checked due to tips by middle school students. Cutter worked the area and was attracted to a fence post that had fallen over.

"We moved the fence post and there was a bag of marijuana and a pipe," Craddock says. "We took them and left our business card."

"I think the fact that students are aware of this occurring, and occasionally kids getting caught, we are not seeing drugs in schools a lot," says Mike Hughes, principal at Millicoma Middle School.

Franzen, the North Bend principal, says the only concerns he encountered about Gracie's nearly full-time presence in his school were from a couple of school board members who feared the dog would wrongly make it appear the school has a serious drug problem.

But things have gone smoothly, Franzen says, and he has heard no more such concerns.

Olson says he and Gracie periodically do an informal "run" down a bank of lockers for training. More formal searches involve an announcement on the public address system that the dog is sniffing the lockers and students are to stay in their classrooms.

If drugs are found, the officers say cases can be handled within the school discipline process, or criminal charges can be filed. Part of their role as resource officers is to help students with drug problems get counseling and treatment if necessary.

People in other communities have raised constitutional questions about the use of drug dogs for random checks, and some other school districts, such as Eugene and Bethel, say school drug problems don't warrant such screening. However the Springfield School District is considering the use of drug-sniffing dogs.

Olson and Craddock say the Coos Bay and North Bend districts view the dogs as just another tool to make the schools safer for students. And they note that court rulings allow the "sniffs." The officers say schools make it plain that lockers are district property, subject to being opened by school officials at any time.

"One thing we don't allow," Craddock says, "is for the dogs to sniff people (for drugs). "That is a (constitutional) violation and unlawful search."

Craddock says he isn't naive enough to think using the dogs will make all students stay away from drugs.

"But if all we accomplish is that kids continue to use but don't bring drugs to school, it's a win," he says.

CAPTION(S):

North Bend police officer Mike Olson walks Gracie, a black Labrador, through the halls of North Bend Middle School as she sniffs for drugs. Gracie, at 18 months old, is new to drug-sniffing and hasn't found any this school year.