Police begin roundup of truants and others

YOUNGSTOWN — Monday wasn’t a good day to be a teenager skipping school.

The rest of January won’t be, either.

Citywide, police working with overtime grant money will be out four hours each school day this month looking for truants and other young ne’er-do-wells.

They’ll also be looking for about 100 youths wanted on warrants issued by Mahoning County Juvenile Court, mostly for failure to appear in court.

Next month, police will mix it up a bit, switching from truancy to nighttime curfew violations and back again, said Detective Sgt. Mike Lambert, head of the Mahoning Valley Law Enforcement Task Force gang unit.

The sweeps that were to begin Thursday got an early start Monday. Officers hit all sides of town, checking for school-age children on the streets, at fast-food restaurants, convenience stores and the WRTA bus station. They left business cards at each location, asking employees to call if children show up weekdays who look school age.

Police, probation officers and gang unit members were supplied with school directories, which list pupils’ names, addresses and adult contacts. Lambert said they’ll soon be supplied with daily attendance reports that will identify pupils not in school without an excused absence.

On Monday, police picked up seven teenagers — three were truant, one had been expelled and three were wanted on warrants, Lambert said. The truants were taken to their respective schools. The expelled boy was released to his mother, and the others were taken to the Martin P. Joyce Juvenile Justice Center.

Not bad, Lambert said, considering the cold, snowy day.

Two 14-year-old boys who should have been snug inside East High School were instead out in blowing snow near an Oak Street convenience store at 10:45 a.m. Monday. Their excuse to police? They don’t like a certain teacher.

A 16-year-old girl, a reported runaway, found walking on Market Street around 11:30 a.m. received a police escort to Chaney High School. Her companion, also 16, was wanted on a warrant; she was taken to JJC.

A 16-year-old boy suspended from Chaney High School was found on Glenwood Avenue at 12:15 p.m. His mother was called to come get him.

The boy had slipped out to go to a friend’s as soon as his mother left to go to a store. She was not happy to get a call from police.

Lambert said children who have been expelled from school are not allowed to leave home.

A 16-year-old Eleanor Avenue boy wanted for a probation violation was picked up at home and taken to JJC.

Probation officers also picked up a 17-year-old boy on Southwoods Boulevard in Boardman who was wanted on a warrant. Lambert said the boy is a suspect in car thefts.

Juvenile Judge Theresa Dellick said Monday that the truancy sweeps are a collaborative effort among police, the schools, the court and Children Services Board. If the parent or guardian of an expelled pupil cannot be found (they may be at work, for example), the boy or girl will be temporarily taken by CSB, the judge said.

“Prevention is better than correction,” Judge Dellick said. “I’m encouraged by the efforts.”

The judge said pupils cited for violating compulsory school attendance will have every resource made available to them, including counseling and anger management. The expelled pupils may be assigned to day reporting at the Boys and Girls Club.

Parents who need intervention will also receive help, she said.