Salt Lake City students beware: If you're not in school, you had better be sick at home.
Starting Jan. 10, police will stop every school-aged youth they see, whether in the malls or roaming the streets. Anyone found violating truancy laws will be taken to a room at Salt Lake Community High School until their parents come to get them. Those still around when school is out will be taken to the Salt Lake County Division of Youth Services.Salt Lake Police Chief Ruben Ortega said the truancy crackdown is one more step in the fight against youth- and gang-related crime. Ortega said he hopes the program will reduce burglaries and vandalism immediately.
"What we're going to do is reduce the calls for services that they (the youths) would have created," he said.
But the crackdown likely will benefit schools in another way. It will identify several youths who are not registered at any local school, officials said.
Truancy laws are similar to curfew laws. Both have existed for years but rarely been enforced. Police started rounding up curfew violators earlier this year.
Ortega said officers started enforcing truancy laws 10 years ago in Salt Lake City, but they stopped for reasons probably related to costs. He said records show burglaries dropped by 50 percent in some areas while the law was enforced.
But this time, Ortega said, cost won't be a big factor. Every officer on a beat will be told to watch for youths during school hours. The officer will use a computer data-base to determine whether the youth is registered in a Salt Lake City school, then will transport offending students without the need to do any paperwork.
He said officers will use "their own ingenuity" to determine whether students are lying about their age or identity. Officers also will have a list of year-round schools whose students may be on vacation, and dispatchers will call other school districts outside Salt Lake City to determine whether students are legitimately excused from school.
Nancy Valdez, supervisor of pupil services for the Salt Lake School District, said truancy is on the rise.
"You'd be surprised how many times schools report 7- or 8- or 9-year-olds out on the streets," she said, adding she believes about 50 students may be away from school each day within the district. Most of those are sick or have some other legitimate excuse.
She believes the extra effort by police will help schools, which no longer employ truant officers.
Ortega said he believes truancy is the first step toward a downward progression leading to burglary, gang involvement and, for some, homicide.
Salt Lake Mayor Deedee Cor-radini said she is working with local churches to get volunteers to help with the receiving center at Salt Lake Community High School.