At a time when incidents of drug and weapon possession are on the rise, at least 15 Long Island school districts have been adding four-legged operatives to their security forces.

The Sachem district is the latest to use dogs to periodically sniff hallways, lockers and classrooms in an effort to keep schools safe and drug-free. Officials have been introducing the canines to students in its four middle schools and two high schools in a series of assemblies. Mount Sinai has set aside funds in its 2009-10 budget for dog patrols.

While critics argue the dogs can make schools feel like jails and civil rights experts worry about students' privacy rights, superintendents say the dogs help create a safer atmosphere for students.

The effectiveness of dog searches is difficult to measure by arrests or what has been found in the searches. Instead, officials say, the dogs are a proactive measure that deters students from bringing drugs and weapons to school.

"We're alarmed about drug and alcohol use and the possibility of weapons in our schools," Sachem superintendent Charles Murphy said. "Our population is no different from other schools. You're talking about regular, run-of-the-mill, middle-class districts that have these issues."

Sniffing out a problem

During an assembly Thursday at Sachem High School East, a 4-year-old Belgian Malinois named Schatzie demonstrated how the dogs will look for drugs and weapons.

Taking quick sniffs of bookbags scattered on the gymnasium floor, she stopped and sat quietly in front of a jacket draped over a chair - signaling she found something suspicious.

The students in the stands oohed and aahed, amazed at her efficiency. Inside the jacket's pocket was a plastic bag stuffed with synthetic cocaine.

State statistics show an increase in incidents of drug and alcohol possession and weapons possession in Long Island schools from 2001-02 to 2006-07. Incidents of drug or alcohol possession rose from 856 to 1,015, while weapons possession incidents increased from 526 to 559.

Sachem will pay $500 to a company that trains and handles security dogs for each search, all of which will be unannounced, Murphy said.

Mount Sinai superintendent Anthony J. Bonasera said his district would pay about $1,000 per visit, about 15 to 20 times a year.

Miller Place High School has had dog searches for about six years after an anonymous survey revealed drug use among students, said principal Seth Lipshie. But the Three Village district last year did not renew a contract it had since 2002 with a dog company to search Ward Melville High School. Officials wanted to look at more cost-effective options.

In 2000, the Kings Park district fired Canine Consultants International Ltd. after a loaded revolver belonging to the company was found in the middle school. The company apologized, but insisted the gun was inoperable.

Connetquot superintendent Alan Groveman, an expert on school security, said while officials in districts across Long Island are hearing that heroin use among teens is on the rise, he said neither dog searches nor metal detectors are in widespread use in local school districts.

"Most of us are trying less intrusive measures," Groveman said.

Student rights a concern

Intruding on students' rights is one concern raised by some critics of using sniffing dogs.

Improper searches - such as when individual students are searched without cause - are potential violations of rights, said Andrea Callan, director of the Suffolk chapter of the New York Civil Liberties Union.

In 2001, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit against a New Mexico school district where dogs were searching students seated in classrooms. One dog bit a student who did not have any illegal substances. The ACLU argued that the schools did not have reasonable suspicion to search students, as required by law. After the lawsuit was filed, the district agreed to stop the dog sweeps.

Callan said the dogs' presence also can make schools feel hostile: "Schools feel more like prisons or crime scenes, rather than places of learning."

Eustace Thompson, a Hofstra University professor of educational leadership and a former Uniondale High School principal, said he understands the pressure administrators feel to keep campuses safe, but dog searches send the wrong message to students. "It's sort of a jail mentality," he said.

Students in Sachem seemed nonchalant about the dog searches. "I guess it's a good idea," said senior Joe Maloney, 17. "It'll be interesting to see how this works out."

Rocco Fredella, who has a son in the eighth grade at Sachem's Samoset Middle School and a daughter who recently graduated from Sachem High School North, said he doesn't think the district has a drug problem, but sees dog searches as a precaution.

"I'm not opposed to it whatsoever," he said. "It's continuing to keep our children safe."

Linda Lee, who has a son in the eighth grade at Samoset Middle School, said she likes the idea of dog searches.

"I have a 13-year-old teenager and they lie like a rug," she said. "This way you don't even have to ask them. You can just help eliminate the drugs, if there are drugs in the school."

Canine companies

Andy Hanellin, owner of Dogs by Andy K-9 Services, the company Sachem uses, said his clients include office buildings, rehab centers and a dozen Long Island school districts. Contract stipulations prevent him from disclosing what other districts are his clients, he said. Another similar company, Long Island K-9 Service, contracts with about five districts in Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester counties, said owner James Greco, who also would not name them.

"Everything is confidential," Greco said. "If we find anything, we mark the locker. It's up to the district to decide what measures they want to take."

Greco and Hanellin said their dogs have been searching schools for more than 10 years and that districts seek them out - not necessarily in response to specific incidents, but to be proactive.

Drug use rising

Hearing that drug use among teens in the community is on the rise prompted the Sachem district to look into using the dogs, Murphy said.

Drug paraphernalia has been confiscated from students in the past, he said, adding that he wanted a way to enhance security in a district that uses portable metal detectors that can be set up as needed to conduct occasional searches.

On Friday morning, metal detectors were used for students entering Sachem High North, Murphy said. After the search, officials found a bag of drugs in a trash can near the school's entrance, probably from a student who ditched the bag upon seeing there was a surprise search, Murphy said.

Murphy said the dogs and metal detectors are not meant to replace adult leadership. Sachem also added more drug and alcohol counselors in recent years. There are four counselors now, where two years ago there was one, he said.

At the Sachem assembly, Hanellin explained that dogs will always be on leashes and will not come into contact with students. Murphy said that if a dog senses something on a student, that student will be questioned. If reasonable suspicion is determined, the student will be asked to empty pockets. "There will be no lining up of kids," to be sniffed by dogs, he said.

School parking lots also will be part of the dogs' turf. Murphy said if a student refuses to allow a car to be searched, the district will either call police or ban the vehicle from the lot.

"The goal isn't to catch kids," Murphy said. "It's more a of warning: Don't bring in something. You're not going to beat the dogs."

Staff writer Joie Tyrrell contributed to this story.