State Police Sent To Beaches To Keep Peace On Boston Schools 'Skip Day'
BOSTON (CBS) – Saying they "have developed intelligence" that Thursday was "skip day" in Boston Public Schools, State Police sent extra troopers to patrol several beaches in Revere, South Boston, and East Boston.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Mark Katic reports
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"Numerous patrol, investigative, and tactical assets from State Police, Boston PD, Revere PD, Transit PD, and Boston School Police are in place on Carson Beach, Day Boulevard and Castle Island in South Boston, Revere Beach, and Constitution Beach in East Boston," State Police spokesman David Procopio said in a statement.
"Intelligence has us anticipating students from Madison Park, Boston English, East Boston, and Malden High Schools possibly descending on these beaches in large numbers."
"We looked at the attendance data. Overall our attendance seems about average. We did however see a slight increase among high school seniors," Boston Public Schools spokesman Matt Wilder told WBZ-TV in an email Thursday afternoon.
During Memorial Day weekend last year, hundreds of teens were caught fighting several days in a row at Carson Beach.
"The goal of this proactive mission is to maintain order and keep the peace for all citizens who wish to use the beaches lawfully. We will respect the rights of all who abide by the law, and will have no tolerance for those who break the law or infringe on the rights of others," Procopio said.
At the end of the day State Police only had a few incidents to report.
On Revere Beach, several hundred young people were generally orderly and only one arrest was made for a minor offense and traffic was kept moving.
On Castle Island, approximately 1,500 youths mixed with families and other visitors, while several hundred more young people came to Carson Beach. At those beaches, too, crowds were generally well-behaved and cooperative with no major incidents.
About 90 youths gathered to drink at Nantasket Beach in Hull but were dispersed by State Police.
Police are anticipating another skip day later in the school year.
