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| School Security SAFE GUARD YOUR SCHOOL .. PROTECT OUR FUTURE… Schools have always been regarded as the bedrock of our societies, providing an important centre for our youth's learning; development and growth. Previously seen as critical safe havens, this is sadly and increasingly no longer the case for a great many schools on these shores. News coverage increasingly highlights the social blight that has seemingly enveloped today's youth. The marked rise in weapon associated violence is such a symptom and one which has worryingly begun to overflow into our schools. The Guardian newspaper recently surveyed 829 Head teachers across the country; 50% of secondary school heads had caught a knife possessing pupil in the past year whilst perhaps even more worrying was the 17% of primary school heads who had encountered a child carrying a weapon in the same period. In another study by the Youth Justice Board it was found that 33,000 of 11 to 16-year-olds had admitted carrying a knife in school. In 2004 there were 170 convictions of under16s for carrying a knife, 37 for carrying them within a school. The Government has recognised and responded to these concerns with the introduction of the Violent Crime Reduction Act and more recently the Education and Inspections Bill. This new legislation empowers schools with the ability to nominate (trained) staff members to carry out hands-on searches without a student's prior consent. Such a move should ensure greater awareness whilst providing a far greater deterrent. For many teachers however this also presents concerns over personal safety and accusations of indecent behaviour when conducting searches. The use of metal detection equipment such as walkthrough ‘Arches' and handheld ‘Wands' provides a quick and reliable, unobtrusive method of detection. Despite their proven effectiveness there do however remain concerns as to the suitability of fixed Arches and the message they convey. Scanna MSC offers a unique solution to these concerns with its Gatescan-P portable knife arch.
Portability stems from its 50kg weight and capacity for full assemblage and dismantlement in under 5minutes. This device enables you to initiate truly random checks and can be quickly relocated to different buildings/schools. The dominating appearance of the Gatescan acts as itself a deterrent and signifier of its rugged design and longevity. A 40hr battery life supports the Gatescan's indoors/outdoor operation without the need for the potential safety hazard of a cable The handheld “wand” scanner can be employed as a secondary scan to pinpoint exactly where on the body a weapon has been concealed. Both technologies are currently employed by the Metropolitan Police who have successfully utilised the Gatescan-P in various knife deterrent campaigns at tubes, rail stations, schools, clubs and pubs. It is important to note that checks should be performed by trained personnel. There is every possibility that your school will not be affected by this recent epidemic of social violence, but there is also no guarantee that it will not. Scanna seeks to provide a degree of reassurance through precautionary early threat detection. Should you have any concerns or wish to discuss this issue further please contact us on +44 (0)207 355 3555.
Link to BBC metal detector video
knife
crime
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News The airport-style search arches may be introduced at the some of the country's toughest secondary schools in London, Liverpool, Manchester and Birmingham. The plan is reported to have the backing of senior police officers, head teachers and parent-teacher groups. 'Responsive policing' They are said to have told Home Secretary Jacqui Smith that the efficiency of the detectors in dealing with knife crime in the worst affected areas outweighed any concerns regarding pupil privacy. Ms Smith told BBC One's the Andrew Marr show: "I think that it's a good idea if we look at the ways in which in some schools it might be appropriate to use search arches - because I want young people to know that it doesn't make them safer to carry a knife. "It actually makes them more likely to be a victim."
Shadow Home Secretary David Davis said the installation of scanners in some schools was "long overdue". "The powers have existed for some time and we have been calling for this for some time. However, while there are hundreds of scanners there are thousands of schools. "We hope that - for a change - this initiative actually makes it beyond the front page." Chris Huhne, for the Liberal Democrats, said the move was "sad but necessary" and urged greater use of stop and search powers to combat knife crime. John Bangs, of the National Union of Teachers, also broadly welcomed the plan, but stressed it would only be appropriate for a small number of schools where gang violence was a problem. He said: "It should be part of the armoury of keeping schools secure, when the head is worried about gangs outside." 'Knife crime' He said he was aware of a small number of schools, including one primary school, which already had scanners. John Dunford, general secretary of the Secondary Heads Association, told the Observer newspaper: "There are schools serving areas where knife crime is high in the community and it's right that these schools take measures to protect pupils, but this is a very small number." Margaret Morrissey, of the National Confederation of Parent Teacher Associations, told BBC Five Live's The Weekend News that "obviously and sadly" such measures were needed.
But she raised concerns about the safety of those responsible for taking knives away from young people. "There's got to be a very secure back-up to this idea," she said. A Home Office spokesman said: "More detail will be available in the Tackling Violence Action Plan which the home secretary will publish in the next few weeks. "We are continuing to tackle knife crime through responsive policing, and prevention projects which provide diversionary activities, training, peer mentoring and education projects." Ms Smith also said during her interview that the government was looking at whether alcohol was too cheap, following the death of Garry Newlove who was killed by a group of teenagers who had been drinking. She said: "I think
we need to look at whether or not both pricing and promotion is
having an impact. That's work that's already under way, and of
course we'll respond to what the conclusions of that are."
School power to search for knives Schools in England have been given the legal right to search pupils who are suspected of carrying knives. Head teachers will also be given guidance on how to use airport-style metal detectors to screen young people. The guidelines state that a pupil can be refused entry to a school if he or she refuses to be screened. Education Secretary Alan Johnson said knife-carrying in schools was rare, but it was illegal and a message it would not be tolerated must be sent out.
He told the BBC: "What happens at the moment is that if a teacher suspects a child of carrying a knife they have to call the police and wait for the police to arrive before that child can be searched - unless the child agrees to be searched. "By that time any weapon they are carrying may have been passed on." Under the new guidelines trained staff, authorised by the head teacher, would be able to carry out searches. Crucially, a search should never take place where there is any risk to staff or pupils. They also explain how best to screen pupils, suggesting that randomly selected groups of pupils could be searched in order to send out a strong message of deterrence. But it also sets out limits for schools, in that suspicion has to be reasonable and not based on stereotypical images of certain groups of pupils. Appropriate training Two members of staff should be present for a search and both must be the same sex as the pupil. And students can only be required to remove outer clothing, such as coats or jackets. Mr Johnson said teachers themselves had asked for the powers but added that the main way to keep knives out of our schools is to continue educating young people about the dangers associated with them.
"I think parents will welcome the clear message that bringing a weapon into school is a criminal offence and will not be tolerated."
But he added: "Let's not exaggerate how our schools look at the moment our schools have a very low proportion with any problem at all with pupils bringing in weapons. "The Youth Justice Board survey told us that, Ofsted told us that and head teachers and teachers tell her that. "Lets not exaggerate this into saying our schools are some kind of ghetto from central Manhattan or the Bronx." National Association of Head Teachers spokesman said it was the job of the police to search individuals for weapons. 'Fully prepared' "They are trained and have the appropriate body armour. "Our advice to our members will be to call for police assistance should they suspect that a weapon is being carried."
General secretary of the NASUWT union, Chris Keates, welcomed the new powers, but said searches must be conducted properly by appropriately trained staff. "However, all schools will still need to consider how they will be incorporated into their policies and procedures to ensure that they are prepared fully should the need arise. "There is a clear role for local authorities and the local police in supporting and advising schools in this process." The Teacher Support Network said in the past year its support line had handled 175 calls regarding behaviour management, 30% of which were concerned specifically with violence, abuse and threats. "Giving teachers facing these issues the power to stop and search pupils may make them feel safer at work though schools must exercise extreme caution," a spokesman added. BBC
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