THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, March 2, 1996 TAG: 9603020287
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LARRY W. BROWN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Long : 133 lines
Officer Benita Diggs spotted her targets - three suspects walking in a field near Lake Taylor High School. It was 9:45 a.m.
She angled her police cruiser to cut off their path, hopped out of the car and confronted them.
They shifted from side to side, blinked earnestly and told Diggs an excuse. She then typed the information - names, excuses and all - into her cruiser computer. Then the truth came out.
Diggs was right. These guys were skipping school.
Chalk up another collar for the Police Department's new truancy patrol.
Seconds later, the three boys were sitting in Diggs' cruiser. They had lied: They'd said they were seniors who had no more classes that day, and two of the boys gave fake names.
One 17-year-old, who said he ``just felt like doing something different,'' apologized for lying and pleaded his case from the cramped back seat of the squad car.
``I can't afford to get in trouble,'' he said.
At Lake Taylor, they had to face the dean of students, Russell Flynn.
Two were suspended from school for one day for lying about their names. The other was handed one day of in-school suspension, sent away from class with other punished students to do regular or specially assigned work.
The officers who caught them - Diggs and her partner, Ralph Bregant - make up one of two anti-hooky patrols that started scanning the streets early January. Norfolk is the only South Hampton Roads city with a police patrol detailed specifically to catch truants.
Four officers are detailed during the school year to cover the city's five high schools, as well as eight middle and 35 elementary schools.
``There were always problem kids in high school,'' said Diggs, a 14 1/2-year police veteran, ``but now it seems like more of them . . . have an `I-don't-care' attitude.''
She said truants - mostly boys - usually travel in twos or threes. Most want to go to the mall, play video games, smoke, drink, go to a fast-food restaurant or just hang. They lurk between buildings or roam the streets, often near their school.
But word seems to have gotten out that police are cracking down.
``They know we're out here,'' Diggs said.
The patrols are making inroads. More than 100 students have been caught since early January when they started.
For the 1994-95 school year, 245 truancy cases were reported. So far this year, 161 have been reported, said Bill Delk Sr., the school system's director of pupil personnel services.
On their first day out, Diggs and Bregant caught nine students. Since then, the officers have averaged three to five a day. Their beat includes Booker T. Washington, Maury and Lake Taylor high schools. Their counterparts - Officers J.D. Flick and D.V. Thomassen - cover Norview and Granby high schools.
Pulling four officers from regular patrols will pay off by reducing daytime crime, said a spokesman for the department, Larry Hill.
``Truancy is the No. 1 indicator of future criminal element,'' Hill said. . ``National crime statistics have shown a large percentage of crime (that) occurs during school hours is committed by truants . . . especially burglary and auto theft.''
Such crimes cost the victim, insurance companies and taxpayers, he said.
``By preventing these crimes, the crime rate is reduced, property loss is reduced and our youth have a better chance of getting an education,'' he said.
Delk, the director of pupil personnel services, said the new truancy patrol is vital to reaching the schools' goal of 100 percent attendance.
``We want these kids in school,'' Delk said. ``We need to work with police, parents, whatever we can.'' Students who are absent 10 days for a semesterlong course or 20 from a yearlong course will receive a failing grade or no credit. But a parent or guardian may appeal to the principal.
In most cases, Delk said, parents or guardians are contacted as quickly as possible.
``Parents are a vital part of what we do,'' Delk said. ``In every situation we initiate contact with the parent. We do all we can do.''
This year, attendance is up, Delk said, but the number of students who cut class still is a problem. Punishment can range from a warning to suspension.
Norfolk's truancy officers keep a record of names, ages, schools and excuses. Diggs and Bregant keep that information in a black notebook to check their progress and watch out for repeat offenders.
The officers hear a variety of excuses:
``I missed the bus.''
``I have a doctor's appointment.''
``I have no morning classes.''
At each high school, the officers contact the dean of students, such as Lake Taylor's Flynn.
``It's been excellent,'' Flynn said about the patrol. ``Before they came on there was absolutely nothing out there. Now the truancy in the neighborhoods has been significantly cut, at least the visible truancy.''
He said fewer students are blatantly cutting class or heading over to Military Circle shopping center.
Maury High's dean, Tony Igareda, said that students usually check into homeroom and then take off - and that parents often have no idea. But this scenario is happening less often, he said.
And more police officers are helping, Diggs said. Even officers not on the patrol are becoming aware of the number of students skipping schools.
``Now I'm more conscious of it,'' Diggs said. ``It's a lot of them (truants) out there.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo by CHRISTOPHER REDDICK/The Virginian-Pilot
Norfolk police anti-hooky officers Benita Diggs, left, and Ralph
Begant question a Booker T. Washington student about why he's not in
school. His excuse: He's on his way, just late. The officers catch
three to five students like him a day.
Graphic
TRACKING TRUANCY
Other school systems in South Hampton Roads handle attendance and
truancy differently. Here is a brief rundown:
Virginia Beach: Police officers on routine patrol return truants
to schools. They also check in with the schools to see if a student
has been suspended or expelled. Repeat truants may be sent to
Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court.
Chesapeake: The school system once had visiting teachers who made
home visits and tracked repeat truants. That program no longer
exists, but Chesapeake is working on a plan that would involve the
Department of Social Services.
Portsmouth: Teachers track truants and try to contact their
families. When unsuccessful, teachers refer cases to the office of
pupil personnel services, which lists truants. That office contacts
school social workers to make home visits. Lindell Wallace, Woodrow
Wilson High principal, works with the Sheriff's Department to track
down truants.
Suffolk: Schools send letters home after a student misses five
consecutive days. Another letter is sent after seven, and after 10.
After 15, a home-school specialist or a visiting teacher
investigates.
KEYWORDS: TRUNACY by CNB