West Midlands Police has seen a 75% increase in the number of minors who have been caught with a knive on them in the past three years. With those caught whilst at a school, increasing by 193%.
Information published by the police force has shown that in the academic year 2013/14, a total of 95 minors (Those aged under 18) had been caught with a knive on them. Two years later, the figure has increased to 166.
The same figures show that, with the 2013/14 figures, 14 incidents (15% of the yearly figures) took place at schools within the operating area of West Midlands Police. Fast forward two years and that figure has increased to 41 (25% of the yearly figures).
This news comes 6-months after West Midlands Police launched a new campaign, with the slogan, ‘Either Way He’s Not Coming Home,’ which aimed to educate parents about the warning signs of how to tell if your son is at risk.
Speaking back in Feburary, Detective Chief Inspector Ian Parnell:
“The people we find most often in possession of a knive in public are young men aged 15- to 19-years-old. A common excuse is that it’s ‘for their protection’ but it’s shocking how many times young men are seriously hurt by the very knives they are carrying. There have been many cases where, during a scuffle, the knive has been grabbed and used against them.”