A POLICE clampdown on truants has been hailed a success.
More than 30 Northumbria Police officers joined educational welfare officers from Sunderland City Council for a one-day swoop on truants, on December 12.
They stopped and questioned 259 youngsters, compared with 326 in a similar initiative last year, and of these, 170 were absent from school without authorisation, compared with 243 last year.
Chief Inspector Jim Sexton, Washington operations manager, said: "We regularly undertake this truancy crackdown working with the local authority.
"We are pleased that, on this occasion, we discovered fewer youngsters who were absent from school than last year.
"There is some evidence that young people absent from school can become involved in crime and disorder."
But Chief Insp Sexton said a worrying discovery was that some parents seemed to condone their children's truancy.
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