Children who carry knives will be given earlier and more targeted support in the wake of stabbings at a secondary school, David Lammy has said.
The deputy prime minister said every child in England and Wales caught with a sharp weapon will be given a mandatory, specialised plan from the authorities.
It comes after two pupils at Kingsbury high school, in Brent, north-west London, were left seriously injured after being stabbed at lunchtime on Tuesday. A 13-year-old boy is thought to be a former pupil who disguised himself in the correct uniform to carry out the attack.
Police will refer every child knife possession case to youth justice services – locally led teams spanning health, education and community services tasked with mandating targeted action to help each child.
They could also could be forced to attend mentoring to stay in education or social skills training to boost employability, officials said.
The aim is to address the root causes of a child’s offending, including potential exploitation by criminal gangs and childhood trauma.
Officials claim such a policy will give children the foundations they need to turn their backs on crime and keep our streets safe, and is part of the government’s commitment to halve knife crime within a decade.
These plans will be mandatory, with no child able to avoid the getting the support they need, it is claimed. Failure to engage will have serious consequences, such as possible criminal charges and time behind bars.
Lammy said: “With early targeted action, we can put children on the right path to a positive future and stop them falling into a toxic cycle of reoffending.
“Our reforms will give local services the security they need to help more young people and make our streets safer for everyone.”
The plans announced today will be backed up with a first-of-its-kind three-year wider funding package for youth justice services, worth more than £320m.
In Brent, DCS Helen Flanagan, of counter-terrorism policing London, said the victims were in a stable condition in hospital, and their wounds – although serious – are “thankfully not life-threatening”.
Police said the suspect fled the scene and was later arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.
Investigators are analysing the suspect’s devices and going through dozens of witness accounts as they try to establish the motive for the attack.
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