Ensign campus clean, police K-9 unit says

It’s always a good sign for a school when the only thing a police K-9 unit can sniff out from nearly 1,100 lockers has to be planted there by police as part of a training exercise.

In a reminder to students about campus safety and to help train the dog, Newport Beach police searched the lockers of students at Ensign Intermediate School while the students and teachers remained in their classrooms. Lockers are generally not opened unless the dog alerts police, officials said.

“The overall idea is the continued effort for the safety and security of our staff and students,” Ensign Principal Steve McLaughlin said. “It’s an effort to protect our students and create a safe and comfortable environment.”

Newport-Mesa schools have the option of having police dogs scavenge the campus for drugs and paraphernalia as part of a safety drill, and parents and faculty are notified months in advance, district officials said. Outside of the decoy set up by police to reward the dog at the end of the drill, the K-9 found nothing on campus, police said.

— Joseph Serna