School Lockdown: 8,000 crimes reported at London schools in one year

New Met Police data reveals shocking statistics for crime rate at educational facilities

Figures released under freedom of information laws shed light on the scale of criminal offences recorded by police which have taken place on school property, with 8,000 instances logged including violence, drugs and sexual offences.

Data recorded by the Metropolitan Police Service for a 12 month period up to May 2019 includes 291 instances of suspects armed with a knife on school grounds, 21 instances of gun possession, 37 reported rapes, 232 drug offences and 3,500 reports of violence.

 

These instances refer to every time a crime report was created by police following an alleged incident, rather than subsequent charges or convictions, or individual 999 calls. Although it wasn’t recorded whether these offences were committed by students or adults on school grounds, it is understood that the majority were committed by pupils.

 

The Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime in London, Sophie Linden, called the situation “clearly unacceptable”. She went on to comment, “The Mayor is working to increase the number of schools officers across the capital, to engage with pupils and drive down crime in schools.”

 

These new figures follow an Ofsted report in March which warned that London schools were not getting sufficient support to combat knife crime. We have previously mentioned that the Department for Education put out a public request for guidance on school security last year, following pressure from teaching unions to create national guidance for lockdown procedures. It is currently collating this advice with the expectation that it will publish new school security guidance later this year.

 

Although not all of these reported crimes would warrant putting a school into lockdown, it is entirely possible that some of the more violent offenses would require such a measure. With a robust lockdown system in place, alongside clear and effective communications systems, each school can ensure it is doing all it can to ensure the safety of students and staff. Current government advice from NaCTSO (National Counter Terrorism Security Office) on lockdown recommends using a different system to broadcast lockdown alerts than your fire alarm, to reduce the chance of incorrect response to an incident.

 

Bodet’s Lockdown Alert System has the ability to broadcast a unique lockdown alert, different to other emergency alerts such as fire and evacuation. This Lockdown Alert System can either be stand-alone, or part of a larger system which can also incorporate Class Change, Synchronised Clocks, PA functionality and music streaming.

 

 

We would be happy to visit your school for a free demonstration so you can see how our Lockdown Alert System can be tailored for your specific needs. To arrange this, please contact us.