The PET Project assigns two officers to patrol in "hot spots" during regular school hours. By conducting field interviews, the officers identify truants, defined as juveniles under age 16 with no legitimate reason to be out of school. The officers take truants to the Truancy Evaluation Center (TEC), where a counselor calls the school to verify the juvenile's status and then calls the parents. Parents can either pick up the children or leave them at the TEC. The counselor administers a survey to the students who remain at TEC, so as to determine why they skip school and whether they have committed crimes while out of school. If students have no history of truancy, PET officers take them back to school. Suspended students participate in the department's Alternate to Suspension Program; approximately 50 percent complete the program and return to school without incident. Students who are chronically truant usually meet with their parents and a counselor to discuss possible solutions to their problems. The counselor provides referrals to other social service agencies, and the children participate in classes that include anger management, drug and alcohol awareness, and gang prevention. 3 notes