Skip to content

Ask an Academic

  • Home
  • Ask a Question
  • Contact Us
Teaching a class of students

Knives in schools

September 25, 2019 by AskanAcademic.com

To what extent is there an issue with knives and similar weapons in UK schools?

Question

To what extent is there an issue with knives and similar weapons in UK schools?

Answer

The 2016 inquiry in to the knife murder of 16-year-old Bailey Gwynne on school grounds concluded that the killing was an avoidable occurrence, and that as a consequence, schools should have greater power available to them to stop and search learners suspected of carrying weapons (BBC, 2016). Though Gwynne’s death was an isolated event, there nevertheless persists an accumulation of data indicating that the carrying of edged weapons is prevalent in secondary schools in particular; surveys indicate that almost 30% of secondary age children claim to routinely have a knife with them in school (KnifeCrime.Org, 2016). Violence towards other pupils as well as to teachers is widely understood to be rising, and is of increasing concern to educationalists, parents, and to trades unions (Williams, 2016).
Responses are varied; there is a need for greater training of teachers and other school personnel in defusing potentially-violent situations, as well as in earlier diagnosis and referral of oppositional and defiant behaviours which may signal an underlying mental health condition and/or substance abuse-related issue (NHS Choices, 2013). At one extreme, the Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006 gives schools powers to use electronic wands and similar devices to screen for weapons, though schools’ management may be understandably reluctant to employ such devices for reasons of negative publicity, the giving of unintended impressions to pupils and staff, and cost implications. Education itself is a strategy, and there are multiple knife crime reduction policies being applied across the UK (KnifeCrime.Org, 2016). Furthermore, educational interventions are seen in academic circles as being the most effective in reducing the incidence of knife crime; contextualised measures within schools would appear to be the most productive way to combat this issue, backed up with robust policing and sentencing to stigmatise offenders (University of Glasgow, 2014).

References

BBC (2016) Bailey Gwynne death: Pupil stabbing death was ‘avoidable’. Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-37606361 (Accessed: 11 October 2016).

KnifeCrimes.Org (2016) Knife incidents, school children knives, school knife crimes. Available at: http://www.knifecrimes.org/worried-about.html (Accessed: 11 October 2016).

NHS Choices (2014) New guidelines on child antisocial behaviour. Available at: http://www.nhs.uk/news/2013/03March/Pages/New-guidelines-on-child-antisocial-behaviour.aspx (Accessed: 11 October 2016).

Violent Crime Reduction Act2006, c. Available at: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/38/part/2 (Accessed: 11 October 2016).

University of Glasgow (2014) Education key to reducing violent knife crime. Available at: http://www.gla.ac.uk/news/archiveofnews/2014/february/headline_305813_en.html (Accessed: 11 October 2016).

Williams, S. (2016) ‘He ran at me with an axe’: teachers on facing violence in schools. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/education/2016/jun/11/ran-at-me-axe-teachers-facing-violence-schools (Accessed: 11 October 2016).

Post navigation

Previous Post:

Appointment of UK judges to the proposed Unified Patent Court suspended

Next Post:

Waterfowl genitalia- How female and male sexual organs have co-evolved.

Search Q&As

Categories

  • Art Media and Literature (74)
  • Business and Management (256)
  • Computing and ICT (14)
  • Construction and Engineering (35)
  • Education (90)
  • Environmental Sciences (2)
  • Finance and Economics (91)
  • Health (64)
  • Languages (12)
  • Law (88)
  • Mathematics and Statistics (2)
  • Medical Sciences (19)
  • Politics and International Relations (83)
  • Research Methodology (1)
  • Science (49)
  • Social Sciences (101)

Archives

Who We Are

Askanacademic.com is owned and operated by All Answers Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales. Company Registration No: 4964706. VAT Registration No: 842417633. Data Controller No: Z1821391.

Registered office:
Venture House
Cross Street
Arnold
Nottingham
NG5 7PJ

Main Navigation

  • Home
  • Ask a Question
  • Contact Us

Legals

  • Cookie Policy
  • Privacy Policy

Popular Categories

  • Business and Management
  • Law
  • Finance and Economics
  • Health
An an Academic Logo
© 2023 Ask an Academic | WordPress Theme by Superb Themes
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Accept Reject
Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT