AUBURN – Fewer teenagers have been arrested since the city returned police officers to the schools, a police spokesman told the School Committee on Wednesday.
Last year, when one officer was assigned to watch over all 11 Auburn schools, the city saw 24 to 39 juvenile arrests each month. After a high in June, arrests dropped suddenly to eight in July, then returned to the mid-20s in the fall.
This year, three officers have been assigned to the schools, one each for elementary, middle school and high school. After a couple of months – once the officers formed a rapport with students, Lt. Jason Moen said – arrests dropped by half. There were 11 arrests in November and 10 in December.
The city pulled all but one police officer from the schools in 2004 to save money. It returned to three officers at the beginning of this school year.
Although the city is facing some budget issues this year, Moen told the School Committee that the officers would not likely be cut from the schools.
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