Despite figures from the Office for National Statistics showing a 10 per cent rise in youth homicides using a knife or sharp instrument between 2015/16 and 2019/20, just 31 of 108 local authorities that replied to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request from CYP Now have a searching system in place.
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Read the full investigation: FoI probe reveals reluctance of YOTs to use weapons detectors
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Just 12 per cent are using static detection systems, known as knife arches, and half of these are in buildings where such systems were already in place for general use such as police stations and courts.
London councils are most likely to have knife arches installed in non-court or police buildings used by its youth offending service (YOS).
Mobile weapons detection systems, known as knife wands, or in the form of pop-up knife arches, are available for use by YOS staff at 18 per cent of local authorities.
CYP Now issued the FOI following the publication of an independent review into the death of Hakim Sillah, 18, who was stabbed to death by another attendee at a weapons awareness course run by Hillingdon YOS.
The review, written by former chief executive of the Youth Justice Board (YJB) John Drew, found that the use of a weapons detection system at Hillingdon Civic Centre, where the course was taking place, would have “in all likelihood, eliminated the possibility” of the tragedy occurring.
Drew’s report issued a series of recommendations including that the YJB should review its advice to youth offending teams, and others engaged in working with children who carry weapons, on the deployment of weapons detection systems, and should “consider whether this issue ought in future to be incorporated into the National Standards for Youth Justice”.
