Bismarck area law enforcement agencies issued fewer total juvenile citations in 2007 than in 2006, but more citations for felonies, according to statistics released Wednesday.

The Bismarck Police Department's youth bureau processed 1,849 juvenile citations in 2007, including 1,623 citations issued by the Bismarck Police Department. The other citations were issued by the Burleigh County Sheriff's Department, Lincoln Police Department, North Dakota Highway Patrol, Mandan Police Department and Morton County Sheriff's Department.

The number represents a nearly 7 percent decrease, compared to 2006, when the youth bureau handled 1,985 citations.

The 2007 citations included 75 for felonies, an increase of 25 compared to 2006. Terrorizing citations accounted for 19 of the 75 felonies in 2007. Police issued four terrorizing citations in 2006.

Police Chief Keith Witt said the increase in terrorizing citations likely stems from a greater community awareness of the potential danger of threats, due to school violence across the nation. In the past, teachers and parents might have dealt with such matters without police involvement, he said.

"They're much more apt to report that to police,"he said.

Witt said he hopes increased education about how threats can be taken seriously will lead to less terrorizing citations and threatening situations.

"Quite often, they maybe don't realize the serious nature of the threats they're making," he said.

Minor in consumption or possession citations, the annual top citation, led the way in 2007. Police issued 344 such citations in 2007, compared to 367 in 2006.

"It just shows a lot of youths are making bad decisions concerning the use and abuse of alcohol," Witt said.

The chief said officers will continue doing special enforcement, which involves staking out off-sale liquor establishments, to try to keep alcohol out of the hands of minors. He said educational efforts have helped teach retail employees to check identification before selling alcohol and what to look for when checking an ID.

Officers also will continue educational efforts aimed at reducing underage drinking, Witt said.

"It leads to other behavioral issues for the youth," he said.

Truancy citations dropped significantly in 2007, with 12 citations issued compared to 41 in 2006. Truancies also were down 67 percent, compared to a five-year average.

Lt. Mike Arnold, who took over command of the Police Youth Bureau in December, said school resource officers have been working with schools to get kids to school. The schools contact the officers when the children aren't getting to class, and the officers work with the families to get the children to school, Arnold said.

"We think education is very important for the kids to receive," he said.

The Bismarck Police Department dropped a school resource officer position in 2007, leaving three officers to deal primarily with schools and students, instead of four. Witt said the fewer school resource officers may have made a difference in some citations, such as smoking, but probably did not make a big difference in the overall number of citations. Smoking stayed the same in 2007 as in 2006, with 10 citations written, but was down 19 percent, compared to the five-year average.

"If there were serious violations, even though we lost one SRO, we'd still be dealing with those,"Witt said.

Though citations overall were down, compared to 2006, the number of citations represents a 1 percent increase compared to the five-year average. Arnold said a larger Bismarck-area population, coupled with a society more apt to call police, probably has had an effect on the increase of citations issued by police.

Witt said responding to more calls for service related to parents and teachers dealing with children is part of the "evolving role of a law enforcement agency."

"Officers and the police department have the responsibility to respond to a call for someone who needs help," he said, adding that some people call police rather than worry about whether their forms of discipline could get them into trouble down the road.

Arnold said parents or teachers may feel a situation is out of control, even if it seems minimal to other people. When children get turned over to the Police Youth Bureau, they and their parents are referred to community services that can help with problems, he said.

"That makes them better parents," he said.

(Reach reporter Jenny Michael at 250-8225 or jenny.michael@bismarcktribune.com.)