School crime levels revealed (From East London and West Essex Guardian Series)

School crime levels revealed

9:10am Wednesday 17th September 2008

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HUNDREDS of crimes, including 11 sexual offences and 64 acts of violence, have been reported in Redbridge schools over the past year, the Guardian can reveal.

Nearly 300 crimes, such as possession of drugs and offensive weapons, along with thefts and harassment, were recorded between August 2007 and July this year.

Stephen Kemsley, who had to call police after his daughter was the victim of an alleged extortion attempt in the playground of Wanstead High School, said he was not surprised by the figures.

“It just shows that there’s lots of stuff going on in our schools but no-one’s sorting it out,” he said.

Iain Duncan Smith said the figures were “very worrying” and urged schools across the borough to take a zero tolerance approach to violence in schools.

The MP for Woodford Green, whose Commission for Social Justice this week launched a cross-party report on youth delinquency, said: “I’m aware there are real problems on the street but these school figures are not good.

“People in Redbridge may well think they don’t have these problems but they do.”

Police say the data could be an indication of better reporting of crime by schools, and more involvement by teachers in tackling youth crime.

While officers are keen to develop their links with schools, a police source said there were challenges in persuading headteachers to allow officers into their schools.

Dr Paul Doherty, head of Trinity Catholic High School in Woodford Green, said: “The problem is that schools do reflect society as a whole.

"Whether it’s in schools, on public transport, in the street or in the park, crime does occur, but I’m pleased to say we (Trinity) do not figure in those statistics.”

“When I was younger, I went to boarding school and it was far more violent than anything I’ve ever seen in 27 years in Redbridge.

"I don’t think our children are getting more violent.”

John Willis, head of Wanstead Church School’s Parent Teacher Association, said the figures should not worry parents with young children.

“I would suspect that the majority of these reported offences would be at secondary schools, so I am not too alarmed by this,” he said.

The figures, obtained by the Guardian under the Freedom of Information Act, also reveal there have been six alleged vehicle break-ins and 22 cases of criminal damage at the borough’s education institutions.

The “sexual offences” category includes all offences except rape.

The police refused to reveal where the crimes took place.

Mr Duncan Smith said the problem of crime among young people was getting worse and needed more intervention at a younger age to tackle the problem.

He added: “Young children suffer life-long damage in a world where they sit in front of the television all day, encounter constant anger and shouting, and witness their mothers being abused by a boyfriend.

"They arrive at nursery school unable hardly to speak or relate to other children without resorting to violence.

“And once they fall behind their peer group, they are all too often on a slippery slope to social exclusion, crime or drugs."

Michael Stark, Redbridge’s cabinet member for children's services, who used to teach at the Kray twins’ former school in Whitechapel, said he wanted to know whether any of the offences led to prosecutions.

He added: "If a child committed an assault on another child in the past the police might have given them a stern telling off whereas now they record it all.

"I think our schools are among the best in the country and we get some very good results, but obviously there are some children in all schools who have problems at times."

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