In a bid to reduce crime, police are launching a major truancy operation across Auckland targeting young people who are ditching school or not attending alternative education. In the next two weeks, police will patrol locations where youths are known to congregate during school hours. Inspector David Glossop said while truancy itself was not a criminal offence, there was a correlation between truancy and youths being offenders or victims of crime. "The majority of our young people across Auckland are in education and are thriving. Ministry of Education deputy secretary, sector enablement and support, Katrina Casey underlined the importance of keeping young people in school.

Source: New Zealand Herald March 05, 2017 20:29 UTC