Local sheriff’s deputies began cracking down on kids vaping on city buses Tuesday as a convoy of patrol cars was spotted following a bus through Saugus.
The sight caught the attention of a few citizens who then went on social media to find out what the fuss was about.
The fuss is about Santa Clarita Valley youth vaping, an issue that continues to top the list of priorities for the SCV Sheriff’s Station since the station’s J-Team held a hugely popular symposium about vaping last month.
“Juveniles smoking or vaping on city buses has become an issue,” Lt. Joseph Fender said Tuesday when asked about reports of a convoy of five patrol cars following a city bus.
One concerned citizen posting on a social media site reported “no fewer than five L.A. (County) Sheriff’s Department cruisers” were spotted trailing a bus, at the intersection of Plum Canyon Road and Bouquet Canyon Road.
“I don’t know if it was five but we did an operation today,” Fender said. “We’re looking for juveniles who were vaping on buses.”
The operation is being carried out by school resource deputies and members of the J-Team, or Juvenile Team.
No juvenile bus patrons were found vaping Tuesday, Fender said, but the crackdown is expected to continue.
“The transit authority reached out for help and we responded,” he said.
“I would expect if there are more complaints there will be more enforcement,” he added.
Last week, SCV saw its first arrest and conviction of a man who sold vape juice to a minor, following a month-long investigation by deputies working with J-Team Detective Bill Velek.
Last month, Velek and his team assumed a lead role at a teen vaping symposium held at City Hall, alerting parents about the emerging health problems surrounding the smoking-like phenomenon called vaping.
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