British children are wearing stab-proof vests to protect themselves from becoming victims of violence, according to a report on the impact of gangs on schools.
The report, given to London’s The Independent newspaper, said teachers at one school where pupils are said to be “seriously involved in gangs” were “aware of young people wearing bullet-proof/stab-proof vests in school”.
It cites one estimate that the number of pupils under 16 involved in gangs had doubled in the past five years.
The report, commissioned by the NASUWT teachers’ union and prepared by consultancy firm Perpetuity, is the first in-depth look at how youth gang culture is influencing schools, The Independent reports.
It comes to the conclusion that children as young as nine at primary school are becoming involved with gangs used as “runners” and “couriers” to ferry messages by older members.
“Some of the case study schools felt the problem had increased over the last few years with gangs becoming more dangerous involving children at a younger age,” the research says.
“Some schools have problems with pupils carrying weapons in school. This can include young people who carry weapons and/or those who hide weapons in and around school grounds.”
The most common weapons teachers reported seeing were BB air pistols and batons. In one incident a teacher saw a meat cleaver.
One pupil told researchers he was wearing body armour because of “needing to”, although attacks were more likely to take place on the way to and from school.
Source: The Herald Sun
By: frankvw - 20th January 2009 at 10:13
On a related subject…. read this one.. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/01/19/hurtful_language/
By: heslop01 - 19th January 2009 at 21:48
Thankfully, i’ve not seen any of this happening in my local area, but, I have heard that Walker in Newcastle has had some problems related to this. I think it’s times like this where I thank the fact that I don’t really like going out at night and if I do i’m with a group of people and we are in the view of public constantly.
By: old shape - 19th January 2009 at 21:27
It’s mainly London, followed by Nottingham and Manchester. Asian Vs Black gangs are marking their “Territory” which often involves knife attacks for as much as looking at them.
They even have initiation into the gang by mugging or knifing or a rape. Nice eh.
To get in our gang at school, one had to climb to the top of a wall (18 feet high, the flat stones on the top were 2 foot 6 wide). The wall surrounded a Victorian mansion estate, it was about 0.75 miles long of unbroken wall. If you could climb up there, WITH YOUR BIKE, and cycle round there and back 1.5 miles you were in! When I did it, my starfish was like a poppy in a gale.
I was a teen in the 70’s, any of that sort of gag/knife stuff and “A division” in Manchester would kick the living daylights out of you. It really was like “Life on Mars”.
The Police had the respect, not some scum that thinks he’s hard because he’s got a knife.
By: Der - 19th January 2009 at 18:12
Not aware of any problems in my neck of the woods with stab proof vests and weapons and Ive got two kids at the local secondary school. Sure these stories sell newspapers though.
By: Joglo - 19th January 2009 at 18:11
My only comment on the matter is the same as yours Steve.
By: Arabella-Cox - 19th January 2009 at 13:34
It’s a lack of discipline. I don’t want to sound like a Daily Mail reader (OK, so I do read it) but thanks to a generation of various teachers and politicians standing up for children’s rights it is now nearly impossible to control today’s youth. They have nothing to fear but each other, and they know it.
But I think the problem is exagerated by the press – most kids are decent and well behaved. It’s a minority in certain areas that make the headlines. My son goes to a local school that has had a bad reputation since I was at school in the same town. It is definitely one of the poorest achieving schools in the county, but my son has never experienced any trouble, and there are never reports of violence in the local press. We encouraged him to take up a martial art a few years ago, but we won’t be getting him a stab-proof vest yet!
By: Scott Marlee - 19th January 2009 at 10:01
sadly there seems to be a lot of truth in that even if its from a newspaper
its happening al over the country, some people get to scared to even walk to their local shop as they have street gangs on the corners causing trouble,
they can be seen drinking on the street (half of them underage anyway) yet the shop serves them.
but tell the parents and either they say they cant help or give you about the same amount of verbal abuse that you’d expect from one of their offspring
its quite a sad time for britain IMHO
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January 19, 2009 at 7:16 am