Reasonable Suspicion

Just in time for the April 1 senior class trip to Florida, the Board of Education has approved an emergency measure amending its search-and-seizure policy to allow police dogs to sniff students' luggage for drugs. In front of a crowded room Tuesday night, the board voted, 8-1, to amend the 1988 policy. The lone opponent was board member John C. Monahan, whose son is a senior. "The board is really treating our children as criminals. We assume that they've all done something wrong," he said.

Although Pennsylvania has no rules governing when county jails may strip-search inmates, the legal guidelines have been clear for years. Many jails follow a standard laid down by the courts and summed up in a model policy developed in the 1990s by the International Association of Chiefs of Police: "Individuals arrested for traffic violations and other minor offenses of a nonviolent nature shall not be subject to strip searches unless the arresting...

Villanova University, thrust into the limelight by revelations of former basketball star Gary McLain's cocaine use, has come up with a new drug policy that allows testing on the basis of "reasonable suspicion," officials said. Villanova mailed letters to about 600 athletes in the last two days notifying them of the three-prong drug policy that evolved from discussions that began months before McLain told his story to Sports Illustrated, said Father John Stack, dean of students.

School's out for kids who smuggle weapons onto school property. State Superior Court has ruled that when school officials get a tip from cops about weapons smuggled in by students, they can detain and question kids without giving them Miranda warnings, about their rights to remain silent and have an attorney. The court overturned the suppression of a gun and a knife hidden by a student in a Berks County school on April 8, 1997. "We hold that school officials do not act as agents of the police where they conduct an independent investigation based upon information the officials receive from police," said Judge John T. Kelly.

The U.S. Supreme Court says you can be strip-searched even if you are arrested for not wearing a seat belt. Or you didn't leash your pooch. Or you forgot to use your turn signal. Or your muffler is too noisy. Seriously. It's enough to scare you straight. There are some chilling true-life tales tucked into the 40-plus pages that the high court published Monday after it ruled that strip searches may be necessary to ensure safety in jails across the land. Otherwise, the court said, people who are arrested and placed in the general jail population may smuggle in weapons or drugs.

Two Villanova football players yesterday said the school's new drug-testing policy was inevitable, something that was bound to happen in today's atmosphere of scandal and scrutiny in college athletics. Villanova mailed letters to about 600 of its athletes late last week informing them of the new policy, which allows the school to test any athlete it has "reasonable suspicion" is using drugs. "It just seems that's the way colleges are moving now," said junior running back-receiver Art Condodina, who said he already had received the school's notification in the mail.

State troopers working the southern end of the New Jersey Turnpike in a six-month period last year searched far fewer cars for drugs and other contraband than in the six months before. But the cars that were searched between May and October all belonged to minorities, according to the most recent numbers released by federal monitors overseeing the New Jersey State Police, which has struggled to overcome a pattern of racial profiling. The data show that troopers in the state police Moorestown barracks conducted what are called consent searches on three cars compared with 32 in the preceding six-month period on a 70-mile stretch of the turnpike from the Delaware Memorial Bridge to Exit 7-A in Hamilton Township.

A state Superior Court panel has ruled that uncorroborated information supplied by a confidential informant is not sufficient for police to stop and search a car for drugs. By a 2-1 vote, the panel reversed the conviction on drug charges of Carl F. Ogborne and dismissed the case against him. Although Judge Patrick R. Tamilia, in a dissent, warned that the decision would "hamstring police" in drug investigations, the majority opinion said that established law on car searches required that the charges be dismissed.

An independent arbitrator has ordered the reinstatement of four police officers who were fired last year after they refused to submit to drug urinalysis. The arbitrator, David Weinstein, also directed that the four officers, all of whom had been assigned to the 18th District in West Philadelphia, be awarded back pay. The officers are Reginald Adams, 35, with 12 years' service; Willie Carroll, 42, a 20-year veteran; Benjamin Noble, 36, a 9 1/2-year veteran; and George Smith, 36, an 11-year veteran.

The Springfield Township Board of Commissioners unanimously approved a drug-screening program last night for all prospective full-time township employees and any current employee suspected of drug use. Effective immediately, all prospective full-time employees will be routinely tested for drug and narcotic use as part of their pre-employment medical examination, according to Lee Janiczek, vice president of the board of commissioners....

The U.S. Supreme Court says you can be strip-searched even if you are arrested for not wearing a seat belt. Or you didn't leash your pooch. Or you forgot to use your turn signal. Or your muffler is too noisy. Seriously. It's enough to scare you straight. There are some chilling true-life tales tucked into the 40-plus pages that the high court published Monday after it ruled that strip searches may be necessary to ensure safety in jails across the land. Otherwise, the court said, people who are arrested and placed in the general jail population may smuggle in weapons or drugs.

With its budget woes, Philadelphia can ill afford the $5.9 million that city officials have agreed to pay as redress for the prison abuse of thousands of people subjected to humiliating strip searches after being jailed only for minor offenses. But the settlement disclosed this week is a price that must be paid for years of heavy-handed booking policies that treated all prisoners as if they were hardened criminals. The city's penalty - which could rise an additional $2 million in legal fees - also should stand as a warning around the region.

Although Pennsylvania has no rules governing when county jails may strip-search inmates, the legal guidelines have been clear for years. Many jails follow a standard laid down by the courts and summed up in a model policy developed in the 1990s by the International Association of Chiefs of Police: "Individuals arrested for traffic violations and other minor offenses of a nonviolent nature shall not be subject to strip searches unless the arresting...

State troopers working the southern end of the New Jersey Turnpike in a six-month period last year searched far fewer cars for drugs and other contraband than in the six months before. But the cars that were searched between May and October all belonged to minorities, according to the most recent numbers released by federal monitors overseeing the New Jersey State Police, which has struggled to overcome a pattern of racial profiling. The data show that troopers in the state police Moorestown barracks conducted what are called consent searches on three cars compared with 32 in the preceding six-month period on a 70-mile stretch of the turnpike from the Delaware Memorial Bridge to Exit 7-A in Hamilton Township.

In a major ruling yesterday, the New Jersey Supreme Court upheld a 2000 Appellate Division decision that imposed some of the most stringent limits in the nation on so-called consent searches of motorists and motor vehicles. "We agree with the Appellate Division that consent searches following a lawful stop of a motor vehicle should not be deemed valid . . . unless there is reasonable and articulable suspicion to believe that an errant motorist or passenger has engaged in, or is about to engage in, criminal activity," Justice James H. Coleman Jr. wrote in the majority opinion.

A Coatesville man facing multiple drug and weapons charges got a free pass yesterday in Chester County Court. Chester County Court Judge Juan R. Sanchez signed an order dismissing charges of drug possession and firearms violations against Andrew Henderson, 31, after the District Attorney's Office agreed to drop the case. Henderson could have faced 14 years in prison if he had been convicted, according to Assistant District Attorney Julie Hess. However, it may be too soon for Henderson to celebrate.

If Downingtown High School students want to attend their Homecoming dance this month, they'll first have to speak into a device that detects alcohol molecules in the air. It's part of the district's year-old policy of conducting mandatory breath-alcohol tests on students attending extracurricular activities, such as dances, assemblies and sporting events. Administrators say the policy seems to be working. Since the procedure began last year, the devices have not detected alcohol on any student's breath.

The 24-year police veteran broke the news to his wife Friday afternoon. He had been among 10 officers chosen for the Atlantic City department's first random drug testing, and he had flunked. Sitting at his Galloway Township home on disability since May, in constant pain from a back injury, unable to run around with his children, Detective Michael Strehle, 44, was 15 months away from retiring. "He saw everything he worked for going up in smoke," family lawyer Harry Goldenberg said yesterday.

School's out for kids who smuggle weapons onto school property. State Superior Court has ruled that when school officials get a tip from cops about weapons smuggled in by students, they can detain and question kids without giving them Miranda warnings, about their rights to remain silent and have an attorney. The court overturned the suppression of a gun and a knife hidden by a student in a Berks County school on April 8, 1997. "We hold that school officials do not act as agents of the police where they conduct an independent investigation based upon information the officials receive from police," said Judge John T. Kelly.

Just in time for the April 1 senior class trip to Florida, the Board of Education has approved an emergency measure amending its search-and-seizure policy to allow police dogs to sniff students' luggage for drugs. In front of a crowded room Tuesday night, the board voted, 8-1, to amend the 1988 policy. The lone opponent was board member John C. Monahan, whose son is a senior. "The board is really treating our children as criminals. We assume that they've all done something wrong," he said.