EXCLUSIVE: Children as young as 6 caught carrying knives in schools

We can exclusively reveal that children as young as six have been caught carrying knives in schools across the North West.

Our investigation has uncovered hundreds of children are carrying weapons into the classroom.

A Freedom of Information request has revealed police forces in the region have recorded nearly 700 knife-related incidents in schools since 2018, which include possession of a blade or threatening someone with a blade on school premises.

Just last week police officers seized two flick knives from pupils at a school in Rochdale.

Our figures show incidents peaked in 2019 before the coronavirus pandemic forced schools to shut their doors to most students throughout 2020.

Below are the number of knife-related incidents each police force in the North West recorded over the last three years.

Greater Manchester Police recorded their incidents slightly differently following a major IT systems change in 2019. They instead show the number of crimes in schools, but many of them involved a knife.

But as school-life begins to return to normal, campaigners are raising concerns about how knives are being carried into schools and the attitude young people have towards carrying them.

'Instantly I started feeling cold. I thought I was dying'

In June 2015 supply teacher Vincent Uzomah arrived at a secondary school for another day of work - but one that was nearly his last.

As he was teaching a lesson a 14-year-old boy stabbed him in the stomach.

In the moments after Vincent thought he was going to die.

"I felt something plunge into my stomach.

"I turned around and he had his knife stained with blood. Wow, that's what he's done on me - I've been stabbed.

"I called his name and said 'you just stabbed me'. And this happened in front of other children.

"Instantly I started feeling cold. I thought I was dying. I started shouting for help. It's a strange feeling and I don't want any other person to go through it."

Vincent made his way to the reception where he told staff to pass on a message to his wife and children if he didn't make.

"I had this fear that I could drop dead at any moment in time. A fear of what could happen if the ambulance didn't come in time. And no one knew the extent of the damage in my organ.

"My kids were young at the time - I thought I might not be able to see them again. I told the receptionist 'if I don't make it tell my wife I love her, tell my kids I will miss them.

"It was this feeling that this might be the end of everything."

Now a lecturer at the University of Salford, Vincent is backing calls to improve the safety of staff and students in schools.

"Schools should be a safe place for children, for teachers and for everyone working in that environment - not a place where somebody should be afraid."

'Schools are meant to be the safe haven that we send our children to'

Some parents are raising concerns about how seriously the issue of knives in schools is being taken by police.

Huma Ghuari, a GP from Manchester, recalls the terrifying moment she received a call to say her son had been threatened with a knife at school.

"I just saw his big eyes full of water, my 15-year-old... I remember him like that was he was three. Shaking and nervous - it was awful.

"The knife touched him. When I say threatened, it was actually touching the shirt he was wearing. He was saying 'mum I could so easily have been stabbed, especially if I had moved."

The incident, which happened in June this year, continues to have a huge impact on the family.

"He was absolutely traumatised and shaken. I saw my confident, slightly cocky, typical 15-year-old teenager go within himself.

"My son played it many, many times through his mind - 'what if?'

"It affected his exam results, his grades. It impacted us as a family because you give them help and support - and it took a long time of us just speaking for him to open up and talk to us about how he was feeling."

The pupil who threatened Huma's son was suspended by the school, but she says there was very little support from the police.

"If it wasn't for the school I'm not sure what would have happened.

"That needs to be addressed because police do not take victims seriously. That has a big impact on the victim, but also the perpetrator because they must feel they can get away with it because no one is taking it seriously."

In a series of reports this week we'll look at why knives are being carried by children and speak to the police officers and schools who are trying to tackle the problem.

Tackling knife crime

Greater Manchester’s Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) have told us they are working hard to address the underlying causes of violence and work together with communities to prevent it.

Established in October 2019, the Greater Manchester VRU brings together Greater Manchester Police (GMP), Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), the National Probation Service, health and education professionals, youth justice and local authorities.

In July 2020, the VRU launched its Serious Violence Action Plan, which sets out seven priorities for the unit and the framework through which serious violence will be addressed.

Its priorities and commitments were developed following extensive community engagement across all 10 districts of Greater Manchester in 2019. Researchers spoke to people in the street, on public transport, in pubs, at community centres, and in sports clubs, to gauge what concerns they had about violence in their community, their experiences of violent crime and what they wanted a newly formed VRU to do in response.

The researchers also worked in schools, colleges, pupil referral units, youth justice teams and youth clubs to capture the voices of children and young people, as well as professionals working with them. In total, the team engaged with over 600 residents and over 300 schools and colleges.

Find out why young people in Greater Manchester are saying ‘violence isn’t me … I am greater.’ https://iamgreater.co.uk/

Finding support

If you are concerned or have any information about knife crime, you can report it online at www.gmp.police.uk or call us on 101. Always call 999 in an emergency.

If you would like to provide information anonymously, call the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or visit crimestoppers-uk.org

Young people can give information 100% anonymously by contacting the charity Fearless at www.fearless.org.

They can also get involved in the I Am Greater campaign, which unites young people against violence by choosing to say ‘violence isn’t me … I am greater’.