Call for more protection over knives in Shropshire schools

West Mercia Police has seized three weapons in schools and academies across the county in the last two years.

The weapons taken by officers so far this year included a knuckleduster and a Stanley craft knife.

Although the number of seizures is relatively low, officers and school leaders are united in their concern about the issue.

Chris Keates, bossgeneral secretary of the NASUWT union wants to see more being done to stop children taking such items into schools.

She said: "Pupils and staff must be protected from offensive weapons being brought into schools.

"Schools should take all reasonable steps to prevent this and send out strong messages to pupils and the community that they operate a zero tolerance approach to this and will report all incidents to the police.

"It is important not to forget that while carrying weapons with the intention of inflicting harm is unacceptable, there unfortunately are too many pupils who feel the need to behave in such a way because they are vulnerable to severe bullying inside and outside school.

"It must be remembered that tackling the problems of violence cannot be left to schools alone, they are issues which have their roots in wider society.

"However, many of the programmes and specialist support which on which schools could rely to assist them in supporting and educating young people on these issues have been cut or removed because ofas a result of the Government's austerity agenda."

Data released under the Freedom of Information Act shows that West Mercia Police have seized a knuckleduster and a Stanley craft knife from schools so far in 2016 and a craft knife the previous year. Across the whole of the West Mercia area, there has been a 120 per cent rise in the number of knife incidents in primary and secondary schools.

Campaigners against knife crime also want to see more done to crack down on the issue.

Patrick Green, of the Ben Kinsella Trust, said: "It is disturbing to hear that knives have been found in our schools.

"All schools should be talking to their pupils about the dangers of carrying a knife. Our worry is that the head teachers often think there's some sort of stigma talking about knife crime and violence."

"We need to ensure that young people know the facts about the dangers of carrying a knife and understand that when you do you are more likely to be a victim of crime."

Inspector Ed Hancox said police would work hard to educate pupils about the dangers of carrying knives.

He said: "We have very few reported offences of weapons in schools.

"We work closely with schools to ensure that students are aware of the dangers and consequences of carrying weapons.

"Where we identify issues we will work with schools to take the appropriate action."

In the West Midlands Police area, the number of knives seized in schools has trebled.

Figures show 14 youngsters were found to have weapons on them in 2013/14 but that increased to 41 by the 2015/16 year.

Earlier this year, the force revealed they had to go to three separate incidents in just one week.