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Children as young as nine are among thousands of kids caught taking knives into schools, an LBC investigation can reveal.
Exclusive data obtained by LBC shows a 60% increase in youngsters caught with a blade on school premises in the last two years.
This means, on average, 12 blades are found in classrooms every single day. One young boy, aged just nine-years-old, was caught with a blade and his mentor said he was willing to use it as he had a “kill or be killed” mentality.
LBC's Crime Correspondent, Andy Hughes, delves into the heart of the issue plaguing Britain’s classrooms, speaking to active gang members, teachers and mentors about their experiences and finding out what's behind this dramatic uptake in knives.
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0:00
Make no mistake about it, this is the biggest threat to young lives we've ever faced in this country
0:07
More and more children are choosing to carry knives, and they're not afraid to use them
0:14
Do you know anyone who's been stabbed? Yeah, I know quite a few people
0:20
Our investigation can reveal that thousands of children are now taking deadly weapons into their own schools
0:27
you'd bring their knife into school? Yes, people are bringing their knives into schools
0:31
because they feel scared. And what's worse, they're getting younger. The youngest one for me was nine
0:38
So he was willing to use the knife? Oh, yeah, 100% to protect himself
0:42
So what is happening to the younger generation? What's changed? Do you know what
0:48
Everyone we speak to about this issue, the police, the gangs, especially the teachers
0:53
they're all saying the same thing. We live in a digital world now where violent behaviour is almost normalised in the minds of some young people
1:09
Welcome to New Rush Hall School in East London. It's home to some of the most troubled and vulnerable children in society
1:17
It's a secure unit for children with behaviour problems. The mainstream education system simply can't handle them
1:26
Come here, come here. Just wait there now. It's not appropriate. No, no, you said it
1:32
I'm here to talk about one problem in particular, knives in schools
1:37
And the children here know a lot about it. Everyone has a knife in it
1:41
They think it's self-defence, like, to carry a knife, but it isn't. What do you mean they think it's self-defence
1:46
Like, if someone comes up to you on the street, yeah, and if they have a knife, they think they're going to be safe
1:50
but they're actually not. Can I ask a question? Do you see stuff online and stuff about knives
1:56
Yeah. What type of stuff do you see? Like, I don't even know the name, but just random knives
2:02
Does that scare you? No, no. It doesn't? No. Why doesn't it scare you
2:10
Because you see it so often? Hmm. Do you see it as normal
2:16
Well, yeah, kind of, because I've seen a knife kind of happen. How often do you see knives being, you know, shown online and social media
2:26
Quite a bit. Quite a bit? How often? Like, it's like more than I used to
2:31
Yeah? Yeah, since I was smaller. And what are you seeing? Like just like people brandishing knives as if it like a flex have you They look up to the older people who carry knives and then also since they know that other young people are carrying knives they feel like they need it for safety It kind of like a cycle
2:50
Like, if I see someone with a knife, I'm going to want one to protect myself
2:54
And then the next person, then the next person. Do you know anyone who's been stabbed or anything like that
3:01
Yeah, I know quite a few people. Quite a few people? Yeah
3:05
How many would you say? Like, maybe like four or five. Do you think the kids who are carrying knives
3:10
do you think they're getting younger? Yeah, they are getting younger. The man in charge here is headteacher Sam Walters
3:17
And then we'll chat at break time. I've worked with young people that have been stabbed and murdered with knives
3:22
I've worked with young people that are in prison that have killed other young people. Why do you think that they're getting younger
3:27
We're living in a digital world now, so kids have access to things that adults don't even think exist
3:33
Kids are in their bedrooms for hours of an evening. Kids are scrolling through TikTok
3:37
Kids are seeing things on Snapchat, Instagram, social media, out in the community that they haven't before seen
3:44
So these thoughts, these ideas, these kind of violent episodes, kids are witnessing
3:50
And the more they witness them, the more normal they become. So we're going through a process now where violent behavior is almost normalized in the minds of some young people
3:59
Kids are becoming desensitized to things that we would, once upon a time, be completely shocked and blown away by
4:05
There's also lots of young people that do not necessarily want to commit violence and they're not thinking, I'm going to carry a knife
4:10
because I want to stab someone and hurt someone. But because of all the stuff they're seeing on social media, they're scared
4:16
An investigation by LBC can reveal that the number of children caught with a knife in school has gone up 60% in the last two years
4:25
So why is this happening? I want to hear from someone who's part of the problem
4:30
So we're in the Midlands and we're here because there's a massive problem with knife crime here. I've just been given the contact details of a young kid involved in gangs and he's agreed to meet so we're going to meet him now
4:41
Meet Moses. He's a teenager who's been arrested for carrying knives in the past
4:46
He joined the gang when he was just 10 years old and his story is a familiar one around here
4:51
What age did you start carrying a knife? Like when I was like 11 12 11 you'd bring the knife into school. Yeah, why people bring nice into school because people are getting attacked
5:03
People are putting up to schools, so people are bringing knives into schools because they feel scared and that
5:08
There was one time, yeah, this kid, he must have banged, like, a knife in, but it wasn't, like, no, like, normal knife
5:14
It was, like, one of them big... Well, like, zombie knife. Like, one of them... Machete
5:18
Machete, like, the red... Brought machete into school. Yeah, yeah, yeah, like, the red machetes
5:23
Like three to two cars pulled up outside of school and like started ramming the gates and that with their cars Why do you think there this culture now of kids just thinking it normal to carry a knife
5:39
I think social media, you know, like this bad man lifestyle. They've seen social media and they think it's normal
5:47
Snapchat, Instagram. So what they see? Like, they'll be selling stuff, like selling knives and that
5:53
Kids be buying stuff, they'll be going and buying knives and the parents don't even be knowing about it
5:57
That's what I'm saying. Parents should be checking phones and stuff to see what their kids are doing
6:03
Most kids, where they get their knives from is online. Lethal knives are so easy for children to get hold of
6:11
The Met Police knows this and they're doing something about it. A Section 8 pace warrant has been obtained
6:17
by authorising officers to search for prohibited weapons, namely zombie knives, flick knives, rambo knives
6:23
So it's first thing in the morning with the Met Police, they're on the way to
6:27
arrest two children who were suspected of selling zombie knives online and we're
6:31
doing this so early because it's before the school run. Hello, it's the police. Can you come to the door
6:43
Open the door. Hello? Hi there. No worries. We've got a search warrant that suggests we're coming up
6:51
We've been investigating social media accounts that sell knives. By doing that, they can bypass all the security legislation
6:58
that prevents them from selling to children. So we look at identifying those people
7:02
who sell prohibited and dangerous weapons. So the police are starting to search the house now
7:07
These suspects are only 14 and 16, and it's believed that they've been selling knives
7:12
zombie knives, deadly weapons, on Snapchat. Now, this is a massive problem
7:16
because we know that many of these knives are ending up in the hands of children
7:20
Some knives found in the 14 and 16-year-old's bedroom. And Mum's given them to us to destroy
7:27
OK. Because they're completely legal. They're legal? Easily. I mean, they look lethal
7:32
Yeah. Well, they will be. Mum didn't know they were in the house, so that's why she's given them up and given them to us to destroy
7:40
Because she doesn't want them in our house. So what's the outcome of this case? So the phone was found in the address
7:46
the phone linked to the Snapchat account. So we're going to take two people from the address down for questioning
7:52
These are some of the deadly weapons taken from the streets by the Met's Specialist Knife Crime Unit
7:58
This is more typically what you'd see as a zombie-style knife. There's only one reason anyone's carrying any of these on the street, right
8:07
Yeah, well, they're all completely prohibited, so it would be criminal activity This in the hands of a child So what happens to the children caught carrying knives in schools I come to West Bromwich to meet Malachi Nunez
8:21
He mentors young kids who are caught up in gangs. Why do you think kids are choosing to bring knives into schools
8:30
The main thing is protection. So, for instance, when they leave school, something may happen
8:36
And a lot of the time, like where I work and in the centre
8:41
all the kids get on the bus to get home and they have a crossover
8:45
You don't know who you're going to meet. You don't know who's going to start on you
8:49
You don't know who's going to ask you where you're from or who's got argument from Snapchat, from WhatsApp
8:54
and say, OK, what is it now? So I think it's a case of they're so scared and unsure
8:59
what's going to happen, are they going to live tomorrow. It's better to have it and just protect yourself
9:04
Why do you think the kids are getting younger who are carrying knives? It's a trend. Carrying a knife is like having a new pair of trainers
9:10
If you was to say to some of the young kids, oh, here, let me take your Rambo knife and give you a kitchen knife
9:18
I'd be like, I don't want that. They're not rationalising, like, it's a knife is a knife
9:23
Do you get what I mean? In our eyes. But to them, it's like, no, it has to also look cool
9:27
How old is the youngest that you've come across of a kid carrying a knife? The youngest one for me was nine
9:33
Nine years old. Nine years old, yeah, nine years old. And he was in a situation where, you know
9:40
his older brother was in a gang, but he was locked up in jail
9:44
so he was just left. He said to me that he was..
9:48
He'd carry a knife to protect himself, because in his mind it was kill or be killed mentality
9:54
He's nine years old, though. I know, but in his mind it's like, they can't get to my brother, they get to me
9:59
but I'm not allowing them to kill me. So if I've got a knife, I've got a chance of killing them first
10:04
So he was willing to use the knife? Oh, yeah, 100% to protect himself. 100%
10:10
The Home Office says knife crime is one of its priorities, and with stories like these, it's easy to see why
10:18
If we are in agreement that young people are carrying knives because they are fearful, how do we remove the fear
10:25
The target of halving knife crime within a decade could not be more crucial or more challenging
10:31
What do you think the solution to this problem is? Get more young people to change their mentality
10:37
So I'm tackling it as it comes in, not waiting for a child to die. And for those still trapped in a dangerous world of knives and gangs
10:44
leaving that life is easier said than done. You've got to be the big person and leave it and walk away
10:50
because where are you going to be? Either in jail or on the run
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