Lincoln Academy administrators locked down the school for a surprise drug dog sniffing exercise Monday morning. As a service to local schools, Law Enforcement Dogs of Southern Maine sniffed the grounds and lockers at LA before moving on to Wiscasset High School the same morning.
At the invitation of the school, law enforcement officers and their trained dogs arrived from Cumberland County, Portland Police, Maine Correctional, Old Orchard Police, the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, Scarborough Police, Windham and Saco Police. Dogs are trained to sniff out marijuana and prescription pills.
According to Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Rand Maker, the dogs and trained law enforcement officials work the areas around the lockers and school grounds then tell school officials where dogs show interest.
Maker said dogs expressed their interest in five lockers at LA. After conducting a search the dog teams tell school officials the results, leaving further decisions up to the school.
“It’s exciting,” said Saco Police patrol officer Nick Stankevitz, who is in his second week in training with his dog, Ranger, a Belgian Malinois. “It’s definitely going to benefit the community.”
Stankevitz said Law Enforcement Dogs of Southern Maine, a law enforcement consortium, gets together regularly to train. Sniffing out schools is just one exercise in their curriculum.
