Number of officers in schools to double

The number of police in schools is to double in response to the knife crime epidemic, a senior Scotland Yard officer has revealed.

Assistant Commissioner Mark Simmons said the Met had made a “major investment” in hiring and training officers for London schools.

He said the force now has about 420 officers in schools, up from about 280 a year to 18 months ago. A recruitment drive was under way to increase the number to “just under 600”, he added.

Speaking to MPS on the education select committee, Mr Simmons said: “We need young people to see police officers not just as the person who stops and searches them – even though that may be an absolutely legitimate thing to do – but someone who can be approachable, that can engage with them within the school.

“It’s a really important part of our approach.”

Mr Simmons was responding to a question about whether pupils suspected of carrying knives should be stopped and searched. He acknowledged that it was an “intrusive” power which could “alienate” people, and said it must be used in the right way and balanced with community engagement.

Will Linden, deputy director of the Scottish Violence Reduction Unit, which is credited with having helped to halve the murder rate in Glasgow – told the MPS that “campus officers” can transform children’s attitudes towards the police.

He said such officers could “break down bonds between gangs, between the individuals and policing”.

The committee was holding a one-off evidence session to explore whether there is a link between the rise in school exclusions and the increase in knife crime.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan and seven police and crime commissioners wrote to the Prime Minister this month to warn that a “broken” school exclusion system is exacerbating the recent surge in violence.