Schools should be safe places for all students, and education establishments have a duty of care to ensure children remain protected. We fully believe that prevention is better than cure, and bringing drug dogs into schools is a positive safeguarding practice. It does not mean that a school has a drug problem but instead shows the school is exercising due diligence.
We are enthusiastic about impeding the spread of illegal drugs in educational settings, and we work within the Safer Schools initiative. By working alongside Safer Schools’ police officers, our sniffer dogs help schools raise awareness and minimise the presence of drugs in and around their environments, as well as stopping the exploitation of young people.
We have been working in schools across the UK for many years and fully understand that discretion is often required. Our dogs are highly trained for all situations and always remain under the control of their handler.
Many schools have drugs awareness initiatives to ensure they create a safe environment for their students. We support schools, colleges and universities with their programmes and help the education establishment spread the message that drugs will not be tolerated.
Our handlers can deliver a brief but fun talk and demonstration in an assembly setting or tutor group. This is proving to be very popular and triggers open conversations amongst students and teachers.
Using drug dogs in schools for random searches is a powerful deterrent and preventative measure. Our drugs dog team can cover all areas of your school, by:
A county lines drug operation involves drugs being transported from one area to another, usually from major cities into towns and rural areas. Often the criminal gangs running the operation exploit children by recruiting them to distribute the drugs.
Students found to be in possession of prohibited items in school – such as drugs or weapons – can be an indicator that they have been recruited by a county lines gang.
Other signs schools can look out for include:
Students repeatedly missing from school
Students receiving an increased number of texts or phone calls
Changes in emotional or physical wellbeing of a student
A decline in a student’s school or work performance
Students suddenly having money, new clothes, or electronic devices that cannot be explained.
Students repeatedly missing from school
Students receiving an increased number of texts or phone calls
Changes in emotional or physical wellbeing of a student
A decline in a student’s school or work performance
Students suddenly having money, new cloths, or electronic devices that cannot be explained.
Students repeatedly missing from school
Students receiving an increased number of texts or phone calls
Changes in emotional or physical wellbeing of a student
A decline in a student’s school or work performance
Students suddenly having money, new cloths, or electronic devices that cannot be explained.
Having our drug dogs in school can function as a highly visual deterrent and reduce the risk of illegal substances being brought onto grounds. Alternatively, our drug dogs can assist with searching premises in the event a school suspects that drugs and other illegal substances are being brought onto the grounds.
We will collaborate with you to provide a safe and secure place for young people to learn.
We understand it can be difficult to approach this subject with parents, carers and students, and our team of experts is happy to provide guidance.
Due to the experience of our handlers, we are often invited into schools to take part in assemblies. These generally form part of a drug awareness programme, and we involve students in demonstrations. These types of assemblies have many benefits and have proved to be an excellent way of stopping young people from bringing illicit substances into educational settings.
During a search of your school, our highly trained sniffer dogs and their handlers will search classrooms, toilet blocks, changing rooms and lockers, common rooms, and, if relevant, boarding accommodation. We can also quickly scan a lunch queue, which acts as a highly visible preventative action, as well as search school grounds, such as shrubbery, bins and wooded areas.
We collaborate with schools to find solutions that will work. We can provide a one-off search to give the school peace of mind or validate concerns a staff member may have. This can help the school identify students who may need support. We have found that regular preventative searches, such as monthly or termly, can reduce the use and circulation of drugs in schools.
Our detection dogs are highly trained to detect illegal Class A and Class B substances in any location across the UK.
Our tobacco detection dogs are trained to detect real and fake tobacco and search for contraband, which helps fight the illegal tobacco trade.
From crowd control to premises protection, we have dog and handlers teams available to provide a canine patrol service nationwide.
