Jane Moreland knows that kids who skip school are "up to no good."

While scouring the streets of Newport News, Virginia for truant students one day, Moreland and a part-time truancy officer spotted a teenage male walking toward the local high school.

"It turns out that he was pretending to be on his way to school," Moreland said.

Just to make sure he actually arrived to class, Moreland and the officer stopped to give the student a ride. As is procedure, the police officer began an initial pat down and located a large bag of marijuana in one of the teenager's pockets.

Moreland said this incident is just one of the many ways that Street Watch, the city's truancy prevention program, is battling truancy and daytime crime simultaneously.

Picking Up the Kids

As coordinator of Street Watch, Moreland is well versed in the connection between truancy and criminal behavior. The eight-year partnership between the Newport News Public School System and the city's police department aims at keeping kids in school and off the streets, where they can find themselves involved in illegal activities.

"Truancy is the gateway offense to further criminal activity," Moreland said. "Nine times out of 10, a kid who gets into trouble with the law has also been missing a lot of school."

Every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, two police officers dedicate days off to remedying this problem. Paid less than they would be as part-time mall security, the dressed officers drive around the city, picking up possible truants and transporting them to Moreland's school district office.

From there, Moreland alerts parents of their children's behavior, requesting that they meet with her to come up with a solution. In many cases, she must refer the families to additional services, including psychiatric help, social services, drug treatment and, if necessary, truancy court.

Beyond Carpooling

But Street Watch is more than just a tracking and carpool service to school, said Moreland.

"Some parents have come to like the officers so well that they see Street Watch as a tracking service for their kids," she said. "But we don't do that; we work to try to get the parents back in control."

To do so, police officers make home visits to excessive truants in hopes that personal discussions with parents will prove more effective than simply dropping students off at the school district offices.

Sometimes, Moreland said, all it takes is a simple house call from two police officers to persuade parents into getting their children back in school. However, more times than not, there are multiple causes for the student's truancy that must be dealt with outside of the family.

Nine out of 10 students with severe truancy problems belong to families with a number of issues that must be professionally dealt with, Moreland said. Oftentimes, she must report abusive parents to child protective services and social services agencies. Other times, she must refer parents for drug treatment and psychiatric analysis.

Moreland said the number of homeless families has also been rising, making it harder for students to attend classes on a regular basis.

"These kids who are highly mobile can't stay in school for more than a month at a time," she said.

In many cases when parents have turned out to be unsuitable role models, officers have volunteered to serve as long-term mentors to reforming truants. Wayne Smith, commander of community programs at the Newport News Police Department, said this is a very important aspect of the program.

"A lot of these kids don't have an adult mentor in their lives, and if we can reach out and touch them at their time of need and show them that there are people interested in their lives, we're hoping we can make a difference," Smith said.

A Relationship Between Schools and Police

In addition to being a benefit for parents and their children, Street Watch is also strengthening the relationships between schools, police and communities.

Robert Kipper, a retired police officer who patrolled Street Watch for four years, said this partnership between the school district and the police department recognizes truancy as more than just "a school issue."

"[Truancy] is well within the concern of the overall community because students who are not engaged in education are more likely to be involved in risky styles of behavior," Kipper said. "It becomes an issue of what type of criminal behavior these young people are involved in when they are not in school."

Moreland recalled a series of afternoon burglaries that occurred in a neighborhood down the street from one of the city's public high schools. The burglars turned out to be students from the high school who would sneak off campus during lunch without permission.

Kipper, too, noted a connection between truancy rates and property vandalism in both business and residential areas.
 
Because of this, Kipper believes that residential neighborhoods and businesses, especially property owners, should be investing more of their interests in preventing truancy.

Street Watch has already collaborated with Neighborhood Watch groups, specifically Crime Watch organizations, through out the city. In the past, the program has trained Crime Watch groups to detect truants and report them, while providing groups with advice on how to communicate with students who they suspect may be skipping class.

Effectiveness of the Program

So far, these collaborations have yielded positive results.

Newport News schools have seen a gradual decrease in unexcused absences, reporting a  drop from 21 percent to 14 percent in the past two school years. Most significantly, unexcused absences among high school students have dropped from 43 percent to 35 percent.

Also, though Smith emphasized that daytime crimes cannot be solely attributed to students who skip school, police reported that there has been a decrease in criminal activities during school hours.

Kipper, who is now a safety consultant, said he is pleased to see how effective the program has been.

"It's been very efficient in giving the community a sense of comfort in knowing that our students are enrolled in schools, and now our parents don't have to worry about that when they're at work," he said. "We're also making sure that we're preparing the next workforce, getting them the education to become productive members of society."

Smith agreed that the program has been very successful in re-engaging students with school and, in the long run, securing their futures. The ultimate goal of the program, he said, is to provide the children with the education they need to "meet the challenges of the future."
 
 As for the future of Street Watch, Moreland hopes that the program will receive the $15,000 it needs to continue for another school year. However, if the funding is not approved by the city, Smith said truancy will continue to be an issue addressed by the police department.

To learn more about the Street Watch program, call Jane Moreland at (757) 591-4675.