Dealing with offensive weapons and knives

The newspapers are always full of stories about pupils carrying offensive weapons these days.

Certainly, it's wise for new teachers to be as aware as they can be. On this page we define offensive weapons, advise on searching pupils and how to confiscate.

The definition of an offensive weapon includes an article made for causing an injury (such as a gun), an article adapted for causing injury (such as a broken bottle) or an article carried for the purpose of causing injury (such as a rock or stone). Clearly many articles are capable of being an offensive weapon. 

The Criminal Justice Act 1988 provides that it is an offence to have a blade or sharply pointed article in a public place without lawful authority, with the exception of a folding pocket knife. The latter is a knife with a cutting edge of no more than three inches and it must be readily foldable at all times. 

A school may introduce its own ban on pupils carrying weapons and knives, regardless of the legal exception made for folding pocket knives. The school should have a procedure in place for dealing with the confiscation of articles such as weapons and knives, which clearly sets out arrangements under which designated members of staff (normally a senior manager) are entitled to confiscate. 

Taking action

As soon as you are aware either that a pupil is in possession of an offensive weapon, or that there has been an incident involving an offensive weapon, you should: 

• immediately inform the designated senior manager - all staff should be aware of who this is and it should be covered in the procedure inform the headteacher urgently 
• not try to deal with the situation alone.    

Senior manager must then decide whether it is necessary to contact the police and then the school should consider whether to deal with the matter as a disciplinary issue. 

If the senior staff member is certain the pupil or student has the article for entirely innocent reasons and there is no intention to use the item as a weapon, it will not be necessary to contact the police. 

Searching a pupil 

An attempted search could exacerbate an already tense and difficult situation. It is important to recognise that searching a pupil is a step that should only be undertaken in exceptional circumstances, and only if you have obtained the pupil's consent. The granting of consent and any subsequent search should be witnessed by a colleague or adult witness. It is preferable for a child's parent to attend if a search is being undertaken.

Any attempt to carry out a search without the pupil's permission may result in an allegation of assault against you. And even though conducting a search with consent from the pupil is within a teacher's authority, it could still result in such an allegation. 

If the child or young person refuses to cooperate, you should arrange for the police to be called; take no further action and wait for the police to arrive. However, in exceptional circumstances, you may be left with no choice but to take action immediately. If this is the case, you should speak to the pupil away from other children if at all possible. You should also try to ensure that a colleague or adult witness is present. 

If the individual suspected of having an offensive weapon is not a pupil at the school, or if the incident takes place off school premises, ATL's advice is that you should not conduct a search. This should be left to the police. 

It is proposed (in the 2005 Violent Crime Reduction Bill) that a headteacher, or a person authorised by a headteacher, should be given the right to search pupils without their consent if they have reasonable grounds for suspecting that the pupil is in possession of an offensive weapon. As indicated above, we would advise members to use such a power with the greatest caution. A considered decision must be made that will not exacerbate the situation. A search should not be conducted if it might involve unnecessary risk and, in such a case, the police must be called. 

In the 2005 White Paper, Higher standards, better schools for all: More choice for parents and pupils, the government states its intention to review whether search rights without consent should be extended to encompass searches for drugs and stolen property . 

Confiscation of offensive weapons 

When an offensive weapon is confiscated by a member of staff, it is important to give the article to the police as soon as they arrive or arrange for the article to be removed from the premises by a parent. Pending the arrival of the police or a parent, the article should be stored in a secure place. The school should keep a record of when such articles have been confiscated and returned. Certain items, such as flick knives and knuckle-dusters, should always be handed over to the police. In the event that a pupil has been found in possession of an offensive weapon, the application of the school's discipline and behaviour policy must be considered. Depending on the particular circumstances, the school may wish to invoke disciplinary sanctions, which might include detention or exclusion on a temporary or permanent basis.

Help and support

For further advice on this issue, ATL members can speak to their school rep, their branch secretary or their regional official. They can also call the London (020 7930 6441), Cardiff (029 2046 5000), Belfast (028 9078 2020) or Edinburgh (0131 272 2748) offices or email info@atl.org.uk

For out of hours enquiries, call the out of office hours helpline on 020 7782 1612 (Monday-Friday, 5-8pm during term time).

If you are not a member, join now.

Resources

• Violence, threatening behaviour and abuse, Pdf document, 1180 KB