The number of knife related crimes in the UK has increased dramatically over the past few years. As you open up the newspaper every morning, it is saddening how many of these crimes are being associated with local schools. This year is on course to be the worst in ten years, for the number of young people in England and Wales injured or killed in knife attacks. A staggering 37 children have lost their lives to knife crime so far this year, which highlights the distress many parents, teachers and pupils are experiencing at the moment. The recent rise in knife crime cannot be tackled in isolation; a whole community of people need to come together and work out a plan to combat these terrifying ongoing incidents.
Recent Events
The number of knife incidents in and around schools is shocking and saddening. Children have been reported to be brandishing knives at the school gates or around local shops in order to intimidate and threaten other pupils. Whether these youngsters, who are in the possession of knives, are looking to obtain valuables from their victims, cause serious harm or simply establish an authority, it is cause for serious concern. Head teachers and staff are left wondering how to protect their pupils; many are being advised to travel home in groups and go straight home after school. Is this the kind of life we want our children to be living?
Solutions
Many solutions are being discussed amongst the community and within schools themselves. Some schools are even thinking about introducing self-defence classes to their pupils, according to the Independent. Teaching your child how to defend themselves in the event of a knife attack, seems quite extreme, but it is a last ditch attempt for many schools. There are also propositions from The Mayor of London, who aims to give all schools access to knife detection wands. As children enter and leave the premises they may be subject to airport-like security, but how effective is this really in the long run?
An option that may put many teachers’ minds at ease could be special protective clothing. As teachers supervise the children leaving school, they could feel more confident if they were protected with protective clothing, such as a Kevlar T-Shirt or Kevlar lined Hoodie?. Ideally this would never need to come into play, but if it helps teachers to protect their pupils and themselves, it might be a worthwhile option.
Preventing Knife Crime
All in all, knife crime needs to be reduced and prevented. Teaching your children how to avoid confrontation, stay away from dangerous incidents and notice suspicious behaviour is incredibly important. The more we can deter our youngsters from knife crime, the more hope we can have for the future.
Tackling knife crime is an immediate pressing issue that needs to be addressed with urgency, before any more of our youngsters are taken too soon. Hopefully with preventative solutions, our communities will feel more at ease sending our children to school every day to learn and thrive in a safe environment. Whether it’s a Zip Up Anti-Slash Top, which offers level 5 blade cut resistance for the teachers or self-defence classes for the children, there is no clear method in place as of yet to reduce the knife crime rates in schools in the near future.
