Indio police receive funding to fight truancy

Thanks to a $220,617 federal grant issued bythe Bureau of Justice Assistance in 2010,the Indio Police Department is one of 33 police departments in the country participating in the Smart Policing Initiative.

The money allowed Indio police to conduct a study that determined there is a relationship between kids cutting class and residential and commercial burglary in the city.

“The next phase of this, we’re working with our school resource officers. We’re working with our staff to inform the community this is a problem, we need your help to resolve it having parents be more attentive to their kids attending school,” said Indio Police spokesman Ben Guitron.

The grant money has also enabled the police department to assign an investigator and a detectiveto concentrate on identifying kids who are cutting class in order to help keep them out of trouble.