Truly shocking - Boy, 15, dies after stabbing this lunchtime at a school in Sheffield.

Wyllow3

I think the constant high levels of appalling violence on video games has a considerable effect. I know the link hasn't been "proven" but I don't believe it.

I think this could be true, and also kids with smartphones/iPhones can access sites showing violent rape, beheadings by Islamic groups in the ME etc., and suicide sites.
Was shown on a documentary recently about kids with these phones.
No wonder Australia and some other countries are thinking of banning access to these sites before the age of 16. Trouble is kids will probs find a way round this.

Babs , you are correct. My AC left the teaching profession and retrained in a completely different area- no regrets at all. They told me that often parents complain ( angrily) if their
child has been reprimanded and teachers have little authority and the children know it!!
FGT, I am with you - two sets of parents absolutely devastated!! Can't imagine the horror. I don't understand the reasons but I do know that carrying a knife should come with a very severe penalty - perhaps it does ? It beggers belief and is almost a daily event. How and when will this carnage stop?

The elephant in the room is stop and search.

I am all in favour of it, random stops could be a deterrent along with removing the knives found and penalising those carrying.

There is a knives down campaign in Essex started by a local businessman, it needs all the publicity it can get .

I’m all in favour of stop and search too. It’s the BME communities who complain most vociferously about it, but too bad. If it gets knives and other weapons and drugs off the street it’s a good thing.

Stop and Search is really important, but I don't see it being able to stop this sort of incident.

This government paper shows how its enforced atm. ie grounds for S and S.

homeofficemedia.blog.gov.uk/2023/06/23/police-powers-stop-and-search/

They would have had to have had the offender (or a gang) in their sights already

That, imho, has to change to random stop and search.

Stop and search would get my vote.
With meaningful sanctions if found in possession.

I actually think we have sadly reached a point where we need electronic scanners and bag searches in all schools as well as random searches of young people in the street. Obvs are safeguarding issues with police randomly searching young people in the street if under the age of 18 but I think we have now passed the point where this matters more than safeguarding our children from knife attacks.

I live in fear of my boy being a victim.
It just doesn't bear thinking about.

In the government report Barleyfields you'll see that can and does occur when the police designate an area high risk. Random S and S is part of the plan then.
But how could it possibly be enforced country wide -and would it have made any difference to these sort of events.
Each incident has its own motivations and circumstances.

Where are the killers Parents in all of this madness ?

Probably at home, not suspecting in their wildest dreams that their child is capable, I'd imagine.

Truly truly shocking, again. More than 20 years ago I remember a young boy 4, being killed by a another 14 year old, outside a local school, also in front of other students.
This was a village school, not a inner city one.
Something drastic needs to be done, but it is beyond me as to what. 😔.

Freya5

Truly truly shocking, again. More than 20 years ago I remember a young boy 4, being killed by a another 14 year old, outside a local school, also in front of other students.
This was a village school, not a inner city one.
Something drastic needs to be done, but it is beyond me as to what. 😔.

Both aged 14.

Barleyfields

I’m all in favour of stop and search too. It’s the BME communities who complain most vociferously about it, but too bad. If it gets knives and other weapons and drugs off the street it’s a good thing.

They complain because more black kids are stopped and searched by the Police.
My partner is West Indian and when stop and search was implemented he knew so many black kids this happened too. Unless we get rid of the racism, no I am not in favour.

rafichagran

Barleyfields

I’m all in favour of stop and search too. It’s the BME communities who complain most vociferously about it, but too bad. If it gets knives and other weapons and drugs off the street it’s a good thing.

They complain because more black kids are stopped and searched by the Police.
My partner is West Indian and when stop and search was implemented he knew so many black kids this happened too. Unless we get rid of the racism, no I am not in favour.

Sorry, but if stop and search of anyone whatever their colour prevents one death it is worth it.

It used to be almost entirely black teens that could be stopped- in lots of cases,many times.
Almost as a means of just making life difficult for them.

MissAdventure

Probably at home, not suspecting in their wildest dreams that their child is capable, I'd imagine.

Very likely.

In theory, it would be good if all school bags could be checked, but personal searches would be required for knives. In schools of up to 1500 students who and how could this possibly be carried out? Over the whole country?

Some sort of scanner?
I don't know how these things work.

Scanners, as in airports.

I entirely agree GG. If someone isn’t carrying a weapon or drugs, why would they object to being searched?

I know it was a long time ago, but when I was at school, no-one was allowed out of school at lunch-time without the written permission of a parent if they were going home for lunch. Very few did that, in fact I only remember about two who did.

Now children just wander out of school to the local chippy at lunch-time and seem to just please themselves.

MissAdventure

Some sort of scanner?
I don't know how these things work.

Essex Police have got a couple of mobile knife arches, which are used as and when.

They were deployed last summer along the seafront, and are also used at the main two stations when they have tip offs regarding London gangs coming down.

Ah, yes.

They sound ideal grannygravy.

Barleyfields

I entirely agree GG. If someone isn’t carrying a weapon or drugs, why would they object to being searched?

As long as the police aren't over-zealous as they were in the case of the schoolgirl who was strip searched by police without an adult present. Teachers thought she was carrying cannabis and called the police. The girl, aged 15, was pulled out of an exam to be searched without another adult present.
She was then expected to go back into the exam and carry on as if nothing had happened.
No drugs were found.