YP Comment: Weapons confiscated by schools

VOTERS are being thrown so many statistics during this General Election that they can't be blamed for switching off '“ what has happened to old-fashioned stump speeches where soundbites were surplus to requirements because politicians spoke with passion and conviction?
By The Newsroom
Published 12th May 2017, 10:06 BST
Updated 15th May 2017, 09:26 BST
At least one in five weapons incidents in schools involve knives.At least one in five weapons incidents in schools involve knives.
At least one in five weapons incidents in schools involve knives.

However here is a truly shocking set of statistics that the country cannot ignore. More than 2,579 dangerous weapons, including samurai swords, axes and air guns, were confiscated at schools in 2015-16, a figure which could be even higher because only 32 out of 43 police forces in England and Wales provided data.

At least 47 culprits found with weapons were below 10-years-old, the age at which delinquents can face criminal prosecution. And this number, according to the data, included three five-year-olds, one of which was caught with a knife.

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This region does not need reminding about the risks that these weapons pose to school safety – teacher Ann Maguire was knifed to death by pupil Will Cornick, 15, at Corpus Christi College, Leeds, in April 2014 while teacher Vincent Uzomah was seriously injured when stabbed by a racist pupil at a Bradford academy the following year.

Yet, while schools are clearly working closely 
with the police to uphold safety, the most worrying fact of all is not only the number of young people who feel the need to arm themselves, but think it is acceptable to take such weapons to a school environment.

Until the reasons for this mindset are better understood, the number of teachers and pupils injured by such lethal weapons threatens to be one of the grimmest statistics of all. That cannot be right, can it?