Law change proposed to cut knife crime in schools

Since 2020, there have been 1,052 reports of a crime involving a knife in Jersey

A "prevalence" of knife crime in Jersey schools has prompted a proposed amendment to legislation.

Home Affairs Minister, Deputy Helen Miles, has proposed a series of changes to the Public Order Law.

States of Jersey Police said in the proposal, that since 2020, there had been 1,052 reports of a crime involving a knife - 25% were in a public place and 6% of those took place in schools.

If approved, the proposed draft Crime (Public Order) Law would replace the current Firearms (Jersey) Law 2000 - carrying an offensive weapon in a public place without lawful excuse - to include schools.

The new law would also be extended to include carrying "a blade or sharply pointed" weapon as an offence, in line with laws in the UK and Guernsey.

"The extension of this offence into school premises seeks to satisfy the legitimate aim of protecting children, and the public generally, from harm and is proportionate for this purpose," the report said.

Ms Miles said the public order laws were "outdated, and have needed to be updated for some time".

She said: “Statistics from the States of Jersey Police show that between 2019 and 2023 to date, a quarter of logged incidents that refer to a knife happened in a public place and, of those, around 6% relate to school premises.

“This is a relatively small number and not a cause for alarm, but it is important that we have legislation in place in the event it is needed.”