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A recent BBC investigation has revealed incidents of very young children taking knives and bladed items into their schools. Read on to learn more.
A recent BBC investigation has highlighted some incidents of very young children taking knives into their schools. In response to the BBC’s findings the government stated it has a “mission to halve knife crime” and pointed out that “schools have the power to implement security measures, including knife arches, where necessary”.
But the latest BBC report is worrying for parents, students and schools. Schools need to be reliably safe and secure environments in which pupils are able to focus on their studies and development without fear. And school staff need to be confident they won’t need to deal with challenging situations due to children being armed with knives.
Is Knife Crime Increasing in the UK?
It is worth taking a look at the overall knife crime trends throughout the UK. There has clearly been an increase over the long term (10 year comparison) but year-on-year statistics show some decline in youth-only offences, while overall knife crime offences in the wider population increased.
In the year ending March 2024 the Youth Justice Board reported 3,200 knife or offensive-weapon offences committed by children (youths aged under 18), resulting in a caution or more significant sentence. This notably represents a 6% decline on the previous year but is still around 20% higher than it was 10 years ago.
The overall total number of knife and offensive weapon offences, processed by the Criminal Justice System in England and Wales, was 20,754. But this is not limited to children under the age of 18. This figure shows a 4.4% year-on-year increase and around a 26% increase on the number of offences 10 years ago.
But it has been noted that incidents in schools appear to have increased in some police areas. West Yorkshire, for example, has experienced an apparently significant increase along with Greater Manchester where around 99 weapons in school incidents were recorded in a recent school year. These apparent increases may, in part, be due to improved reporting and recording. But they also reflect the overall increase in knife and offensive-weapons incidents in wider society.
Why Do Children Take Weapons into School?
The BBC reported a number of disturbing incidences involving primary age children.
Police in Kent responded to a report involving a four-year-old with a knife in school. The offence recorded was "assault with injury - malicious wounding" but there were no details regarding who was injured or the nature of the injuries. Another agency or body intervened due to the child being under the age of criminal responsibility.
West Midlands Police have responded to multiple incidents involving young school children armed with knives and bladed items. In one case, a six-year-old was in possession of a flick knife and had told school staff that: "I have a plan... I am going to kill [name of pupil]". Although the child initially denied carrying a knife, staff were able to seize the offensive weapon. The same police force also logged an incident in which a five-year-old had taken a 10-inch kitchen knife into school to “show his friends”. And in another incident a six-year-old had taken a “meat cleaver” into school.
At Penbridge Junior School in Portsmouth, a primary school child brought a knife into school in response to a ‘dare’ from another student. School staff responded quickly to immediately confiscated the knife.
In Essex a six-year-old boy took a small paring knife into Westborough Primary School in Essex and an eleven-year-old girl is reported to have brought a kitchen knife into Lingham Primary School in the Wirral.
There are many reasons why young children have taken knives and bladed weapons into schools. Responding to dares and peer pressure is one reason, as illustrated by the previous examples. A school friend says something like “I bet you won’t do it” which then prompts a child to “show them” by carrying a knife into school. Incidents like this are not underpinned by harmful intent. They are primarily driven by a child’s aim to impress and possibly gain acceptance in a social group.
Younger children, particularly those under eight-years-old, generally don’t fully understand or appreciate how dangerous knives can be. They might bring knives or other bladed items into school to show-off or because they think their friends will find them interesting or impressive. There is unlikely to be any serious malicious intent but there can be a high risk of injury due to their lack of knife-danger awareness.
Sadly, some children carry knives due to fear and feeling unsafe. In some reports children have stated they were carrying a knife because they had been bullied and feared being attacked. These occurrences are more common amongst children aged over ten, especially in urban areas. In some occasional cases, children have carried knives in response to a threat or in preparation for retaliation. Police in Essex dealt with a case in which a child said they had brought a knife to school “just in case” after having been told someone was “going to get them”.
Perhaps the most concerning reason why some children have brought knives into school is because they are mimicking behaviours they have seen at home, from older peers or on social media. As noted, knife crime in wider society has been significantly escalating, so more children are in environments where they are exposed to influential peers who routinely carry weapons. This exposure normalises the carrying of knives and other weapons.
What Can Schools do to Keep Knives Out?
As the government has already stated: “schools have the power to implement security measures, including knife arches, where necessary”. So what are the practical precautions schools can take to make certain knives are never brought onto school premises?
UK schools are taking a range of practical and preventative measures to reduce the risk of knives and other weapons entering school premises. These efforts vary by region, school type, and local risk level, but generally fall into five key categories: prevention, detection, education, intervention, and partnerships with police and safeguarding agencies.
Bag Searches and Screenings
The Education Act 2011 supports the use of ‘random bag searches’ and ‘targeted searches’ to keep weapons out of schools.
Hand-held metal detector wands along with walk-through knife arches are already being used in some secondary schools. The presence of these rigorous security checks acts as a powerful deterrent, prompting students not to carry knives or other weapons.
Many schools now publish detailed search policies as part of their overall behaviour or student safeguarding policies. These provide details of pupils’ rights along with staff powers. They also detail the use of devices such as hand-held metal detecting wands, portable knife arches and Random Search Selectors to ensure totally unbiased and truly random selections.
Knife Crime and Weapons Education
Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education (PSHE) includes important lessons on the dangers of carrying knives along with the potential legal consequences.
Workshops and group sessions for pupils in years 5-11, focusing on peer pressure, consequences and the impact on victims, are known to have been very effective.
Also, invited guest speakers including ex-offenders, police officers and charities, discussing the impact of knife crime and providing children with valuable insight, are recognised as very beneficial.
Safer Schools Partnerships
Some schools, especially those in and around major cities, have dedicated safer schools officers (SSOs). These people are generally police officers assigned to specific schools or groups of schools. They coordinate and conduct workshops, patrol nearby streets around the schools, deal with conflict resolution and support school search and screening activities. They foster trust between pupils and the local police while also providing early warning intelligence regarding potential threats.
Strict Zero-Tolerance Policies
Most schools already have strict zero-tolerance policies, banning bringing knives and weapons into school. Government guidance supports the permanent exclusion of pupils for ‘intentional weapon carrying’. Its vitally important that all pupils and parents know about these policies and the potential impact exclusion can have.
Anonymous Reporting Systems
Another powerful initiative, adopted by many schools, is the provision of anonymous reporting tools - via email, online forms or drop boxes. These facilities enable students to report if they know someone is carrying a weapon or if they have fears for their safety or the safety of others. These simple tools encourage peer reporting in a non-confrontational, secure and anonymous way.
Parental Engagement
Many parents are naturally very concerned about safety, security and knife crime in schools. Some schools run family workshops covering topics that include knife crime, bullying, peer pressure and conflict resolution. Involving parents in establishing a safe, secure learning environment is very important, especially for younger pupils.
Safety and Security Tools for Schools
The Education Act gives powers to school staff to search pupils for prohibited items (knives/weapons etc.), if there are reasonable grounds. The Gov.uk Education Hub Document: ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education Settings: everything you need to know’ states:
“School leaders can introduce additional security measures, such as metal detectors or knife arches, if they consider it to be necessary.
Before considering the installation and use of any technology used for screening, headteachers are encouraged to consult with local police who may be able to provide advice about whether installation of these devices is appropriate. “
The guidance clearly recommends consultation with local police before investing in additional security measures such as walk-through metal detecting knife arches. Here are the tools which many schools are now using to successfully deter and prevent knives from entering their properties.
Portable Walkthrough Metal Detecting Arches
Metal detecting security arches are now commonly used at airports, transport hubs and many other locations. But many schools and colleges don’t need permanent metal detecting arch installations. They need a reliable security scanning facility to operate for a period of time, to act as a deterrent and improve feelings of security in their establishments. The facility can then be removed and reintroduced at random times, whenever or wherever the need arises.
Portable walkthrough metal detecting knife arches fulfil this requirement. This form of security arch packs up neatly into an easily transported package, enabling it to be shared between multiple schools and colleges. Its very quick and easy to erect and provides high-sensitivity metal detection that ensures prohibited metal items are never brought onto school premises.
High Sensitivity Hand Held Metal Detecting Wands
The new Garrett Guide hand-held security metal detecting wand is precisely what’s needed to quickly scan school bags and pupils with minimal inconvenience.
In situations where a full size walkthrough metal detecting arch simply isn’t suitable, the Garrett Guide handheld device can provide excellent security screening with minimal intrusion. These practical handheld devices are also a popular addition to metal detecting arch screening, enabling operators to pinpoint the location of metal items without any contact with the subject.
Random Search Selectors
In any situation where truly random selections are required to be carried out the operator, responsible for making those random selections, is always at risk of being accused of bias or prejudice. In school and college environments it is absolutely vital to ensure random selections, for safety and security, are truly and verifiably random.
Our Random Search Selectors alleviate those responsible for making random selections, ensuring that every selected person or bag is chosen at random. These easily configured devices are very simple to operate, enabling the speedy throughput of students and ensuring nobody is late for their lessons.
If you have any questions about security metal detectors, or if you have any special requirements, remember we are here to help. Give us a call on 01273 092921 and we’ll provide you with free, expert advice.
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