A SPECIALIST team of police officers has been formed to deal with criminal behaviour in secondary schools.

In the pioneering scheme, Cleveland Police officers are called upon to deal with assaults on staff and between pupils, "happy slapping", drug dealing, offensive weapons and other problems across Redcar and Cleveland.

The aim is to keep pupils out of the criminal justice system and deter them from anti-social behaviour and truancy.

The behaviour, attendance and truancy team (Bat), which includes Sergeant Dawn Naughton, PC Edward O'Hara, PC Linda Sibley and educational welfare officer Hannah Gooch, is the only team of its kind in the country.

Since its launch, Cleveland Police has reported a drop in crime.

Sgt Norton said: "We work with all the schools in the district, but tend to focus more closely on the senior schools, as this is where the majority of the problems lie.

"We do not deal with general misbehaviour within the schools, as this is something the school handles internally.

"The majority of our work is dealing with assaults on staff and between pupils, happy slapping, drug dealing, offensive weapons, sexual offences and bullying."

Depending on the nature of the offence, officers initially deal with problem students by giving them strong words of advice in the presence of a member of staff.

"The benefit of this approach is that many children were once being subjected to the criminal justice system for minor offences, such as a spat between two friends, and had to be formally interviewed and either cautioned or charged.

"The presence of the Bat team now acts as a deterrent and officers can intervene before behavioural issues get out of control."

Disruptive parents are also a matter for the Bat team. The members can either issue fixed penalty tickets for abusive behaviour on school premises or prosecute them via the courts system.

If the school decides to ban the parent from its premises, the Bat team will hand-deliver the letter and, should the parent need to attend the school for meetings, provide a police presence to give the headteacher a sense of security during the meeting.

Sgt Naughton said: "Children who truant and are on the streets during school hours are vulnerable and, therefore, more susceptible to committing crime.

"With this in mind, we also carry out truancy checks targeting known areas where truants congregate, attend their homes and escort them back school."

Stuart Rees, the headteacher at Redcar Community College, said: "The Bat team project has been incredibly successful and has made a significant contribution to the school, improving attendance, behaviour and GCSE results over the past three years. Students, parents and staff all value the involvement of the Bat team in the life of the school."