Pros And Cons Of School Searches

Certain school districts in the United States give police officers the opportunity to make occasional, unannounced visits to high schools to search school property that their drug-sniffing dogs may find suspicious. While critics contest that said searches are a violation of the students’ fourth amendment protecting against unwarranted searches and seizures, the student searches can, in fact, be a tool for maintaining a safe learning environment.

Although school searches seem like a direct invasion of privacy as well as a waste of time for school administrators and security officials who conduct them, further analysis reveals that this is not the case. From an ethical standpoint, these searches are in the best interest of everyone involved. Parents entrust school officials to protect their students when they enter their facilities. Consequently, …show more content…
Finding contraband material such as stolen property, drugs, or weapons in a student’s locker is an easy way to establish guilt and know which students to punish for the violation of school policy. Furthermore, said searches prevent the looming danger of uncertainty. Besides its effectiveness in practice, locker searches can act as an effective deterrent because if students know their lockers are subject to search, they may be less likely to bring banned items to school, making the overall environment a much safer place.

With an ongoing safety issue in institutions across the country, searches to school property have become crucial to the safety of students and faculty. Locker searches reduce drugs and weapons in schools, which is in the best interest of all students involved. As school practitioners navigate the murky waters of school searches, their proper policy practices may help avoid any litigation from those subject to said searches. Even if there is a privacy issue, students must yield that right in return for the wider benefit of