A combined police, education truancy officer and Walkwise patrol operation in Central Wellington today was judged a success -- even though only two college girls were found skipping school.
Inspector Marty Grenfell, Wellington Area Controller, says there have been problems in the past with school children ‘hanging out’ in the central city when they should have been at school.
Ten youth aid and community staff joined forces with Group Special Education this morning, spending three hours checking the central city, railway station, skate parks, shopping areas, theatres, library and parks.
"We found two college girls in Manners Street when they should have been at school and will be following this up with their parents," Mr Grenfell says. "The school was contacted and they were certainly disappointed with their students."
The truancy team also spoke with a couple of 17-year-old boys who said they were on a study break. "They weren’t legally truant because of their age but their excuse certainly didn’t wash with the school when we checked it out," Mr Grenfell says.
"We’re really pleased only two truants were located. We spoke with several current youth offenders who were on bail and even though no breaches were detected, it was still a very worthwhile exercise."
Further joint patrols are planned over the next five weeks, including the Johnsonville and Kilbirnie areas.