Drivers of students cited after inspections

In a joint investigation between Brockton police and state Department of Transportation officials attached to the Registry of Motor Vehicles,’’ investigators cited drivers of school vans and station wagons for dozens of violations, including driving without a proper license and safety issues including bald tires and overloading vehicles so much that some children were not being properly secured in car seats or seat belts.

At a dozen checkpoints, 85 transport vehicles were investigated, and 52 violations were discovered.

Police said numerous companies were involved in the crackdown, dubbed Operation Clean Sweep.

One company, Jolly Gardens, faces a criminal complaint that it overloaded vehicles with too many youngsters, according to Brockton police. Failure to wear seat belts, or secure youngsters in a car seat, drastically increases the chances of a fatality in the event of an accident.

“The worst violations, we will take complaints out against,’’ Brockton police Captain Leon McCabe said in a phone interview yesterday. “They could have their license to operate suspended.’’

“We need to assure parents that their children are riding in safe vehicles with properly trained drivers,’’ said a statement issued by Rachel Kaprielian, the registrar of motor vehicles.

McCabe said three or four violations were found in each vehicle cited in the investigation.

“Protecting our children is the city of Brockton’s number one priority,’’ McCabe said, and transportation companies bear the brunt of the responsibility in these cases, not the schools.

Jocelyn Meek, a spokeswoman for the Brockton public schools, said parents who live close to their schools contract directly with the transportation companies and need to be diligent in assessing their safety records.

But she said the school system also would work harder to monitor the companies offering transportation services.

“This is a concern to all of us. These are our students, our children,’’ Meek said. “We’ll do whatever we can to help mitigate this kind of a problem, but unfortunately it’s a consumer issue, as well.’’

In addition to the overloading and bald tires and other equipment problems, one of the most common violations was the drivers’ failure to have a 7-D license, which permits someone to transport school pupils in Massachusetts.

The holder of a 7-D license, a person trusted with young children, has to pass a criminal background check.

Drivers of 7-D vans and station wagons are required to submit to inspections twice a year to ensure vehicle safety.

This is the third time in five years that the Registry and the Brockton Police Department have teamed up to investigate vehicles that carry children.

In March, investigators checked 65 vehicles and wrote 113 violations.

A similar operation in 2004 resulted in 114 violations against 49 vehicles.

McCabe said progress is being made.

“Violations were down 30 percent,’’ he said.

“Each time we go out there, there are less and less violations. I think they’re getting the message.’’

Globe correspondent Sean Greene contributed to this report. John M. Guilfoil can be reached at jguilfoil@globe.com.