Police chief writes to children about knife crime

Knife crime in South Yorkshire schools is "extremely rare", police say

A police chief constable has written to 16,000 children across South Yorkshire to reassure them about knife crime in schools.

The letter, from South Yorkshire Police's Lauren Poultney, includes a leaflet for parents and carers on how to approach a conversation with their children about knife crime and what the force is doing to prevent it.

The material will be delivered to all secondary schools in Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield, with a request they are sent home with 11 and 12-year-olds over the coming weeks.

In her letter, Ms Poultney says: "We all have a role in preventing knife crime and yours could be as simple as a conversation."

The letter also includes a comic book, which features a story based on real-life events in the region, highlighting the potential consequences of carrying a knife.

Knife crime campaigner Anthony Olaseinde said direct engagement with children and their parents would be a better approach.

The letter includes a comic, written by South Yorkshire Police's Det Con Thomas Ryan

"Whether it'd be going to the schools and doing assemblies, or asking groups of parents to come along with the children," he said.

"I think that knife crime is a very serious thing and it should have a person behind it."

Referencing the murder of 15-year-old Harvey Willgoose at a Sheffield school in February, he said: "You've had a young person that's lost their life and you're sending letters to 11 and 12-year-olds - what about the rest of the young people?"

According to police, knife crime in schools is "extremely rare", with less than 2% of all knife-related crimes in South Yorkshire happening in schools in recent years.

Chief Constable Lauren Poultney has written to 16,000 children in South Yorkshire

Most of these relate to a person carrying a knife, not to one being used to threaten or cause harm.

In her letter, Ms Poultney says preventing knife crime is a priority for schools, local authorities, and the police.

"We regularly speak to young people across South Yorkshire to understand why they may carry a knife, and to educate them about the potential consequences of doing this," she says.

When knife crime is reported to South Yorkshire Police, the most appropriate course of action is taken, Ms Poultney says, which can include helping a young person access support or arresting a suspect.

Harvey Willgoose was killed during his lunch break at school in February

"If we find a weapon, we will always seize it," she says.

Most people who carry a knife "never plan to use it", she says, but think it would protect them or increase their social status.

"Together we need to change that mindset," Ms Poultney says.

South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority and the Violence Reduction Unit awarded further funding to extend the police's Knives Take Lives campaign, which was launched in January.

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