More than 75 incidents of 'offensive weapons' being used in Wiltshire schools and colleges have been recorded over the past four years, police figures reveal.
A Freedom of Information request was made to Wiltshire Police to find out how many of these crimes in 'educational establishments' were recorded between 2019-2023 in the county.
These 'offensive weapons' included sharp or blunt instruments, knives or a bladed possession, fluids, and firearms.
In total, the force's figures state there were 78 incidents in these educational establishments, with 64 of them committed by males and 14 by females.
Local campaign group Owen's World, which was formed after teenager Owen Dunn was stabbed to death, has labelled the results 'shocking'.
The ages of offenders shown in the FOI vary from as low as nine to 50, some of which led to suspects being named or charged by police, cautions handed out, educational or intervention activities undertaken, community resolutions issued, and more.
Of the five years of data released by Wiltshire Police, the most incidents took place in 2022 (20), followed by 2019 (18), 2021 (15), 2023 (13), and 2020 (12).
In one instance, police state a nine-year-old was caught with a 'sharp instrument' on school premises, and a 10-year-old was found with a knife/bladed possession at their respective school, too. The force says that for the latter incident, the suspect was named but the investigation was 'not in the public interest'.
The most common age of an offender was 14 with 20 incidents, followed by 12 (14), and 15 (12). There were also six instances of the perpetrators being 18 or over, namely two 19-year-olds, two 22-year-olds, a 49-year-old, and a 50-year-old.
The 49-year-old was caught with a knife/blade possession on the premises and was subsequently charged in 2020.
For the two incidents with firearms, a 14-year-old was named but there were 'evidential difficulties' in 2020, whereas for the 15-year-old the outcome was 'cancelled/transferred' in 2021.
Last October, Wiltshire Police figures showed there were 326 recorded instances of knife crime in Wiltshire and Swindon in 2023 - a 15% increase to the previous year when there were 278 recorded crimes.
In a bid to stamp down on this, Operation Sceptre - an initiative that takes place twice a year and aims to raise awareness of knife crime and the police response in detecting and preventing it - was launched again last month.
One such course of action was installing new knife bins in Wiltshire towns such as Devizes, in an anonymous way of encouraging people to safely get rid of any weapons they are carrying.
Moreover, Wiltshire Police has been delivering knife crime education sessions in schools across the county.
In November 2023, the force's Blunt Truth workshops taught students about the possible life-long consequences of carrying a knife and what to do if a friend or family member is stabbed.
Owen's World has also been visiting schools to talk about the dangers and reality of knife crime, and their CEO Jo Davis has shared her thoughts on the FOI's startling results.
"It's shocking that it's rising year by year, still seems like there's absolutely nothing being done about it," she said.
"We feel that like there's only the police presence on it when they have their special weeks twice a year, and a lot of it is left down to groups like us.
"It's shocking that there are kids that young that are carrying weapons like that, with possibly the intent to use them.
"A lot of it falls on the parents to be more aware of what their kids are getting up to, why are the parents not aware that a nine-year-old is carrying a knife?
"But from talking to children, a lot of them think it protects them when in reality, it doesn't."
Swindon hub commander Superintendent Guy Elkins said: “We appreciate the concern around children carrying weapons and we are working directly with schools across Swindon to ensure our young people are aware of the dangers of carrying knives.
“Over the past year, in collaboration with the NHS, our officers have been conducting Blunt Truth workshops to thousands of children in schools.
“These sessions educate our young people about the potential life-long consequences of carrying a knife, but also encourage them to report it if someone they known is carrying a knife.
“Our officers also frequently visit schools with knife arches which provide an invaluable opportunity to raise awareness of knife crime and engage with young people on the dangers of carrying a knife or bladed article."
He added: “I also want to stress that quite often, our communities are aware of those who carry knives but don’t report it to us or our partner agencies.
“This must change if we are to collectively challenge this cycle of offending and prevent offences taking place."
If you have information about individuals who are intent on carrying a knife or weapon, please call 101 or 999 in an emergency.
You can also report it 100 per cent anonymously via Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.
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