UK - Police launch drugs swoops in schools (Wales)

[Lunar Loops]

Almost feels wrong even putting this in 'Law and Order', but this is apparently what passes for justified police action these days. This from the South Wales Argus:

Police launch drugs swoops in schools
By South Wales Argus Newsdesk

GWENT police officers with sniffer dogs and specialist machines launched surprise random drugs tests at three Cwmbran schools today.
A team of six officers visited the town's three secondary schools, Croesyceiliog, Fairwater and Llantarnam, to test pupils and classrooms for traces of illegal drugs.
The entire year ten group from each school - pupils aged between 15 and 16 - were called into their school hall, where their bags were laid out for the drugs dogs to check.
Officers then used the force's Ion Track drug detection system to swab doors, desks and other classroom surfaces to check for traces of drugs.
No individual tests were carried out on pupils.
The six officers involved in the operation found no traces of drugs at any of the schools.
PC Darrell Dewar, Cwmbran police's crime and disorder reduction officer, said the tests were not carried out in relation to any specific incident or as a result of any evidence, but were part of an ongoing operation.
Only senior staff at the schools knew they were going ahead.
PC Dewar said: "We are glad that we didn't find any traces of drugs, but that doesn't mean to say that there are not drugs in schools.
"We mustn't sit back and be complacent and think nothing's going on because today's exercise proved negative.
"We will continue to liaise with the headteachers, who have been fully supportive of the operation, and there will be further such tests in future."

[Joe Duffy]

The police must have very little to do in Wales!

[dsl39uf]

They swabbed doorknobs and desks??? WTF?? That sounds utterly ridiculous. Like if there are any drugs around they're just going to be lying around the place as if they are common bacteria. SWIM wouldn't be surprised if there was some kid there high as hell thinking, "Damn I'm wasted and all these dumbasses are doing is swabbing the doorknobs"

[Bikelbees]

Welcome to the future - I've never seen so many police stalking around schools, the head of one school described her semi-permanent resident officer as effectively a member of staff. I bet some of the teaching staff in Wales were anxious when those dogs got to work! Those senior staff, wasting all that police time and teaching time, and not a sniff of drugs to be found, and I'm expect that the experience really dis-engendered the police with the pupils.

[Evil GIR]

The governments/police neo-Natzi stance on drugs is getting really annoying.
I was reading a report from Transform which basically said that Gordon Brown wants Cannabis to be class B regardless of the evidence.

Basically it doesn't matter if drugs are the safest thing in the universe, the government just REALY doesn't want anyone to take em, I reccon its for some outdated christian moral beleife.

They dont give a dam about the children, they be the first one to toss the kiddys into the furnace if they had a joint.

[Lunar Loops]

What SWIS would like to know is just exactly what did they hope to achieve by this? He can see no other reason, other than to instil fear into the children that they may be stopped and searched at any time, when they least expect it.

So kiddies, "just say no or we're gonna get ya".

Does that really justify the invasion of privacy? Does it justify the expense? Is it likely to be effective in stopping children from experimenting now or in later life? SWIS thinks not.

They didn't find anything. What exactly were they going to do if they did find something? If a dog showed particular interest in a child's bag, were they then going to arrest the child, caution him/her, put 'the fear of god' into them? Would this be just cause to turn up at the child's parents house with a search warrant? Surely it would be incredibly hard to prove use or posession by traces being found on a school bag? Even more so if they found traces upon the school premises....what then? Close the school? Re-test the school at regular intervals to make sure they have their house in order?

Is this not state madness of the highest order?

Now is 1984............