London Mayor encourages schools to take up knife wands

As part of measures to crack down on knife crime, London’s mayor Sadiq Khan is urging schools across the capital to take up his offer of using a knife detection wand.

Seventy-six schools across London are now using one of the wands under the scheme in order to prevent knife crime and keep young Londoners safe.

In a week where four young men were fatally stabbed in separate, unrelated incidents across the capital in just 24 hours, the mayor is highlighting the vital role schools have in keeping young people safe, as he continues to work with the Met, schools, communities, hospitals and young people themselves to rid the capital of these devastating crimes.

Delivering a commitment in the Mayor’s Knife Crime Strategy, deputy mayor for policing and crime Sophie Linden wrote to all schools across the capital in October offering them a wand if they want one. The metal-detecting wands are a part of City Hall’s work with schools to tackle knife crime, and prevent students from bringing knives into schools.

Khan said: “Knife crime ruins lives and devastates communities, and my thoughts remain with the families of the four young men tragically killed in four unrelated stabbings on New Year’s Eve.

“These heartbreaking deaths reinforce our determination to rid London’s streets of this scourge, and I know that the Met police are urgently working to bring those responsible for these horrific acts of violence to justice.

“But this is a problem that cannot be solved by the police alone. Schools have a vital part to play in our fight against knife crime by creating a safe, positive place for students, spotting danger signs and spreading the message that carrying a knife is more likely to ruin your life than save it.”