Schools trying to catch vaping students by with installing detectors

Some of Melbourne’s top schools are going to extreme lengths to crackdown on pupils aged as young as 12 vaping on campus.

Schools are installing silent vape detectors that lock students inside bathrooms so teachers can search children for contraband.

As schools crack down on pupils aged as young as 12 smoking on campus, the new technology is being used in bathrooms to closely track student movement and curb the harmful trend.

Rest rooms at some schools are even being locked between recess and lunch time.

St Bede’s College in Mentone has installed vape-detecting technology, which is already being used in Queensland and NSW.

The use of e-cigarettes triggers a silent alarm system that emails an alert to teachers, who then lock students inside the bathroom so they can check them for vapes.

Deputy principal Mark Jones said more detectors would be installed at the school because information sessions for students had raised awareness about vapes, but not stopped pupils from vaping.

“Of course staff don’t want to be checking the toilets, but we try and do everything in our power to stop the kids from engaging in activities that are harmful to themselves,” he said.

“It’s a difficult one because they’re (vapes) so easy to conceal.”

Teens are illegally vaping at school. Picture: iStock

One Year 12 student at the all-boys’ secondary school told the Herald Sun the detectors were working so far, but made students worry about getting locked in a bathroom if they were not vaping.

“I think the detectors are a good deterrent. It makes you really question whether you need to use the bathroom and risk getting caught.”

He said he witnessed students as young as 12 vaping at the school.

Other schools that have installed vaping detectors and CCTV in corridors outside toilets include St Columba’s College in Essendon.

The girls’ school has already faced a number of incidents, with punishments handed out to students.

And in March this year, Marymede Catholic College introduced bathroom sensors capable of detecting chemical vapes.

Sacred Heart College in Geelong is also believed to have installed the detectors.

A student at Frankston High School was suspended after they were caught vaping.

A Department of Education spokesman said Alkira Secondary College in Cranbourne North uses bathroom pass regimen in which students must receive access to the rest room outside meal times.

St. Bedes College in Mentone is one school that has installed detectors.

The spokesman refused to say whether vape detectors would be rolled out in public schools.

The new measures come after the Herald Sun revealed Victoria Police had been unable to pinpoint a single fine against tobacconists selling illegal vapes, despite a change to the law eight months ago.

In March, a five-year-old Geelong boy was hospitalised after unknowingly ingesting an entire strawberry flavoured vape with his friends at school.

Is illegal to vape or smoke on school grounds, or for businesses to sell vapes, which carry high levels of nicotine, to people under 18 years old.

Alcohol and Drug Foundation policy and advocacy knowledge manager Laura Bajurny said “punitive” measures could be harmful if schools did not offer support from staff with concerns about themselves or their friends vaping.

“Feelings of belonging and connectedness at school, and having positive role models such as teachers and other school staff, are factors that can help protect young people from experiencing harm from alcohol and other drugs,” she said.

“Adopting a punitive approach may cause more harm than good, especially to vulnerable young people.”