Metro Police hope cracking down on truants puts a dent in crime

By Jackie Valley

Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2011 | 2 a.m.

It didn’t take much detective work for Metro Police to figure out who was behind an increase in daytime home burglaries in Enterprise.

The prime suspects: kids — who should have been in school.

“The property that was getting taken was a lot of small items, like laptops and cell phones — things that kids could probably put in their backpacks and conceal and walk down the street,” said Lt. William Scott of Metro’s Enterprise Area Command.

In what police hope will alleviate the problem, they are resurrecting a program aimed at keeping students in school, off the streets and out of trouble.

Taking Action Regarding Delinquent Youth — TARDY — began in the early 2000s to combat increased daytime property crimes in the northeast valley, said Capt. Matt McCarthy of the Enterprise Area Command.

The program, which debuted again earlier this month in Enterprise, enlists officers’ help to stop and question middle and high school students they see wandering the neighborhood during school hours, Scott said.

When officers spot students they suspect might be playing hooky, they will verify the kids’ stories with parents and school officials before notifying attendance officers or taking them to school, Scott said.

Students will receive two warnings from school administrators before facing a truancy citation, which could mean meeting with a probation officer and attending a diversion program.

Last year, the district issued about 3,300 truancy citations, the most ever, said Eric Gant, coordinator of attendance enforcement for Clark County schools.

Metro officers plan to increase patrols around convenience stores and other businesses where teens tend to hang out, Scott said.

Officers hope to prevent petty theft at the businesses, in addition to stopping residential burglaries in which they suspect teens are looking for a quick way to make some cash.

“If the kids are out smoking weed and drinking alcohol during the hours of school, how are they actually financing their habits?” Scott asked.

Gant said the School District supports the partnership and its goal to hold parents and students more accountable. “I hope it’s something we can continue in other parts of town,” he said.

TARDY is similar to the School District’s “sweep team” Fridays, in which attendance officers scour neighborhoods looking for students skipping school, Gant said. The School District has 21 attendance officers who track down truant students.

Police said they are closely monitoring TARDY’s impact on daytime property and violent crimes and on school attendance for 90 days in Enterprise before launching it elsewhere.

Officers hope to nab habitual truants, especially those with juvenile criminal records, but Scott said any students tempted to ditch class should consider this a warning.

“You need to be in school,” he said. “Just because you do it on a one- or two-time basis doesn’t give you a pass.”