Vote Extends Drug Inspections At Palm Desert, Other Area High Schools

The Desert Sands Unified School District unanimously agreed to extend canine detection inspection services for all district high schools on the heels of a highly publicized drug raid on l in mid December.

According to security chief Jeff Kaye, the vote was a no-brainer to give the contract to Falco K-9 Security & Investigation of Cathedral City.

“The new contract doesn’t represent much of a change … we’ll be working with the same person we were working with before,” he said. “It’s just that tonight’s contract is going under a different business name.”

As Kaye explained, Falco dog handler Roger Orique had been performing similar services for the district since the beginning of the school for another company – Serna & Associates Security Services of Palm Desert – prior to moving himself, his dogs and his detection equipment over to the other company.

“We’ll get a bigger bang for our buck out of him under the new contract since Falco is local,” Kaye said, noting that he was able to get Orique out to La Quinta High School earlier within minutes of Tuesday’s bomb-scare incident.

The vote comes in the wake of Dec. 16 narcotics raid at Palm Desert High School that prompted investigators to take 14 students into custody on drug charges.

During the raid law enforcement personnel seized marijuana, cocaine, ecstasy and prescription drugs.

During a brief presentation before board members, Kaye urged approval of the agreement, citing the effectiveness of the program.

He was joined in that effort by Orique and his partner, Nico, a two-year-old Dutch shepherd imported from the Czech Republic, who collaborated on a brief demonstration of the latter’s ability to sniff out contraband.

Arranging three bags – one of which had been “scented” – on the floor in front of board members, Orique prompted the animal to sniff each one. At the third and final bag, Nico sat down.

“Once he picks up a scent, you won’t be able to budge him,” said Orique. “These dogs are very well trained and their noses are 5,000 times more sensitive than a human being’s.”

Kaye said that ability equates to effectiveness.

“A drug dog is the best deterrent there is,” he said. “A trained K-9 unit can pick up traces of drugs, alcohol, tobacco … even weapons and explosives.

“We usually get something every time we go out.”

In a separate 5-0 vote, district officials approved an agreement with SMaRT Education to provide a one-week after-school robotics program for student in grades 3 through 8 attending the After School Education & Safety (ASES) Program at several district schools. The program is schedule to begin Feb. 28 and run through June 3.