east sussex truancy sweep

A total of 66 young people were spoken to by the patrols and questioned as to why they were not in school. Of those spoken to, 44 had valid reasons for their non attendance that day, however 18 pupils were returned to school using Police powers taken from the Crime and Disorder Act.

Insp Russell Ternent, Sussex Police Youth Safety and Intervention Team said, " The number of young people challenged about not being in school were almost identical to the county wide sweeps we undertook just over ay ear ago in October 2005. This year we returned 18 real truants back totheir schools compared to only 11 in 2005 and the Education Welfare Service will be following this up with their parents or carers who are responsible for making sure their children attend school regularly."