 Officer
Paul Graff questions a student from Vina Danks Middle
School in Ontario after she was caught
"ditching" on Wednesday. |
"We were on our way back to school," said Johnny, 16, who also
attends Chaffey High.
"My alarm was set for 5 (a.m.), I guess I slept through it," said
Juan, 14 a sophomore at Chaffey Community School.
They did not resist as the officer directed them into the back seat of his
squad car. |
"You're lucky I came to school," David quipped. "I could have
stayed home and not got caught."
Their crime: truancy, which brings with it a $61
fine for first-time offenders.
On Tuesday and Wednesday, four Ontario police officers, headed by Graff, who
is Chaffey High School's resource officer, combed back alleys, scoured
convenience stores, even checked apartment complexes throughout the city for
truants.
They turned up more than 20 in the two-day sweep, Graff said.
As well as checking out known hangouts, the officers responded to calls from
neighbors.
The department does such sweeps every six weeks or so, Graff said.
As Graff shuttled Wednesday's offenders back to school, the trio added to
their stories: They'd met by chance, went to McDonald's for breakfast and were
on their way to school anyway when they got busted, they said. No big
deal.
But in Ontario it is a big deal, since the city passed an ordinance two years
ago forbidding teens from "daytime loitering."The ordinance, which
says no one under 18 is allowed to be off school grounds during school hours
without a parent or guardian's consent, originally was passed to control daytime
burglaries and other petty crimes, Graff said.
But it also has cut down on truancy and improved school attendance, he said.
 Graff clears the back of his seat before taking
students back to school after they were caught off
campus. |
Before the law was passed, Ontario police would pick up an average of 8 to
10 truants a day; now, despite this week's count, they find an average of three
or four daily, Graff said.
Before it became a crime to skip school, police would pick up the same teens
several times. Graff said. "They knew we would just drop them off at school
and that was it. They didn't take it seriously." |
Upland, Montclair, Fontana, Rialto, Pomona and other area cities also have
ordinances prohibiting teens from loitering during school hours.
"We have had (the ordinance) in Rialto for three years, and we have
definitely seen results in getting kids back into school," said Marilyn
Cardosi, spokeswoman for the Rialto Unified School District.
| After picking up the three young men Wednesday, Graff escorted them to their
school counselors and principals.
Graff said he may cut one or two of them a break, giving them a week to prove
themselves with perfect attendance, before deciding whether to cite them. |
 \ Officer
Paul Graff talk on the radio during school lunch on Wednesday. |
|
