Eleven children were caught bunking off school in the first half an hour of a truancy crackdown which took place as part of a day of action on crime by the Safer Bristol Partnership.

The children were caught by officers patrolling the Lawrence Hill and Redfield area.

PC Lyndon Parsons, school beat manager for City Academy, took details of the nine boys and two girls who were stopped and escorted them back to the school alongside Sergeant Jon Ames.

In total, 31 youngsters were returned to school by the truancy patrols on Friday.

All pupils stopped by the officers said that their parents were unaware they were late or absent from school at the time.

PC Parsons said: "Three of the youths we stopped as part of the patrol have been victims of crime.

"Two boys in another group are known to the police as offenders.

"If you are a pupil out wandering the streets unsupervised during school time there is potential for you to fall into either of those categories – falling victim to crime or becoming involved in crime.

"If we can engage with young people and tackle the problems at an early age we have a greater chance of preventing a lot of offences being committed."

The truancy patrol was one of more than 40 activities and events being highlighted on Friday to show the public what Safer Bristol Partnership members – the police, courts, council workers, firefighters and people working in the probation service – do every day to make Bristol a safer place to live.

There were a number of litter clean-ups in the city, including one at the St James roundabout underpass – known as the Bearpit – where people who have committed crimes picked litter as part of their Community Payback.

There were police raids on the homes of suspected drug dealers across Bristol.

As part of the day of action:

15kg of ketamine worth £225,000 and £25,000 in was cash seized from a flat in Barton Hill during a drugs raid, leading to two arrests

Two arrests were made during six raids on homes in south Bristol where heroin, cannabis, bullets and an imitation fire arm were found

109 vehicles were stopped by officers using Automatic Number Plate Recognition cameras to identify suspect vehicles

Three drivers were arrested – two for driving while disqualified and after being found to be wanted on warrant for assault

Two taxis were taken off the road for safety failures

20 other unroadworthy vehicles were ordered off the road

66 fixed-penalty notices were issued for offences such as no MoT, no insurance, driving in bus lanes and using mobiles while driving

Six vehicles were seized for no insurance or no documents

Four cars carrying children were stopped for failing to have proper child seats in Ilminster Avenue, Knowle West

Five fixed-penalty notices were issued for littering, including two for discarding cigarette butts, three for fly-tipping and two to trade waste carriers who could not provide documentation for their vehicles.

In Withywood, officers searching three houses were joined by housing officials and the city council's community safety supremo Gary Hopkins.

Councillor Hopkins said: "Drugs were found in the three properties and arrests were made.

"This has implications for people's tenancies – that's what they fear more than anything, losing their house.

"All the neighbours were spoken to as well to let them know what was going on and why. We hope it will encourage people to come forward with information in the future."

In Ashley Down, six parents had lessons in road safety at Ashley Down Junior School.

Father-of-two Hitash Patel, 38, of Quarrington Road, Ashley Down, was among the parents who attended the safety workshop.

He said: "Drivers blast down my road. People who speed are generally younger drivers, under 25.

"My son is three and he thinks he's safe on the pavement, but drivers coming in and out of the local supermarket often cross the pavement and can't see him. He's come close to getting run over."

Rachel Yarrow, 47, who lives off Shaldon Road, accompanies her children, Billy, seven, and Evie, 10, to school because she says it is not safe for them to go alone.

She said: "We have never had lollipop people to help children cross the road. It would be helpful if there was someone to support children crossing the road outside the school.

"We are surrounded by major roads here. Cars go too fast and they are not mindful of the children."

Road safety officer Mike Baugh said: "This is the first time we've extended the lessons to parents who are likely to be drivers themselves."

Ashley Down Junior School's head teacher Lawrence Pitt, 41, said his main concern was traffic speed.

He said: "We've had two near-misses in two months – one was very close.

"An ongoing issue is that we can't get a crossing patrol person.

"We do road safety work with the children and now that is being extended to parents."

Superintendent Ian Wylie said one of the aims of the day was to make people realise that Bristol was getting safer.

He said: "Crime in Bristol has fallen consistently over the past five years. In the past year there has been an eight per cent drop in crime overall, which equates to 4,000 fewer victims of crime in the city.

"However, despite the fact that the city is actually a safer place to live today, we recognise that many people are still concerned about crime and anti-social behaviour."

"The Safer Bristol day of action is about demonstrating to the people of Bristol how the police and partners are working together in our city every day to make it a safer place for people to live.

"We believe that this will generate community confidence and close the gap between perception and reality regarding crime."