Drugs dog Skye encourages students to paws-for-thought around illegal substances

A specially trained detection dog has been out visiting schools in Cornwall as part of the police’s efforts to educate and deter students from using drugs.

Skye, who is trained to sniff out the presence of drugs, was recently invited into Fowey River Academy in St Austell to carry out passive searches in year 10 classrooms.

The students aged 14-15 were asked to walk past Skye, who would in turn sniff them and their school bag. Officers would then have a chat with the class about the visit and the importance of not getting involved in drugs.

The classroom visits each lasted around five-minutes. No drugs were detected during the passive searches.

PC Gareth Hawken, who helped to organise the visit, said: “We don’t come to the schools wanting to find any drugs, and it’s a great result that we don’t.

“Fowey River Academy wasn’t picked as there was a perceived problem, but because we have a great working relationship with them.

“These visits are key in showing our collaborative efforts to tackle the use of drugs.

“If together with our local schools we can encourage young people to make safe informed decisions as they grow older and deter them from using drugs, that’s a win.”

Headteacher of Fowey River Academy, Ben Eddy, said: “We are always pleased to welcome in Skye and the local police team. These visits are invaluable and help to reinforce the key safety messages around the dangers of drugs. These visits are always well received by students.”

Dylan, one of the year 10 students, said: “I think it should be enforced in more schools – it’s just good to educate children about drugs at such a young age.”

George, another student said: “It’s definitely a deterrent to doing drugs and should put some people off hopefully. It’s showing that risk that if they do something like that, they run the risk of being caught and that it’s probably not worth it at the end of the day.”

To report illegal activity or to log non-urgent crimes happening in your area, please visit our website or call 101.

If you would like to report crimes anonymously please visit Crimestoppers.

For all emergencies call 999.