Teacher’s ‘wand’ finds knives

A pilot scheme is being carried out in Derbyshire schools after teachers and parents became worried at the increased number of youngsters carrying knives into school. Pupils refusing the e-search will be asked to leave the school grounds and they will be searched by police officers.

Sergeant Julie Hay, of Derbyshire police, said: “We are aware that young people do not generally carry implements with the intention of hurting another person but to just look cool among their peers and to give themselves a feeling of protection.

“Police and schools are working together with families and students to raise awareness of the dangers of knife crime and the consequences of carrying them. Students will only be searched when there are reasonable grounds to suspect that they are in possession of an implement.”

Sgt Hay said that if a pupil was suspected of carrying a knife, their parents would be phoned for consent before teachers performed a search.

Youth involvement officers have been visiting schools with armed response officers, who have talked to pupils about the dangers of carrying knives or guns. News of the wands being distributed came after the Government announced on Wednesday the results of a “tackling knives” programme in six areas of the country.

Since the programme’s launch six months ago, the number of teenagers admitted to hospital for woundings in those areas has fallen by 27 per cent.

One teacher who asked not to be named said: “A few years ago there were hardly any children bringing knives into school and any who did tended to bring in their dad’s Swiss Army Knife. When they were caught they would be whittling wood or something relatively harmless.

“Now the blades being brought in are terrifying; the bigger the better as far as the children are concerned. They want to be the one to rule the playground but forget that it takes just one slip for a bit of showing off to become a deadly accident.

“Younger children carrying knives are also putting themselves in danger of having their knife taken off them by an older child and used against them to make them hand over goods.”

Teachers in Swindon are refusing to search pupils for drugs, alcohol or weapons however. Headteachers there say the new Government policy suggestion would destroy relationships between teachers and pupils.

Greendown Community School headteacher Clive Zimmerman says the Government should not hand the responsibility to teachers: “We have a process here where if we suspect pupils of carrying weapons, drugs or alcohol we notify the police and they would come and carry out a search. We have had very few incidents, possibly three in the past seven years since I have been here.”

Phil Baker, of the Association Of Teachers And Lecturers, said British schools are heading the same way as American ones and may even one day have security guards and metal detectors before pupils even get through the gates.

“I can foresee in the future we may have, in larger secondary schools, full-time security guards who may carry out this function but it would be a very retrograde step to take. As an association we do not see it as the job of teachers to engage and search pupils.

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