Knife crime in schools
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WQ.397/2025
WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE MINISTER FOR JUSTICE AND HOME AFFAIRS
BY DEPUTY M.B. ANDREWS OF ST HELIER NORTH
QUESTION SUBMITTED ON MONDAY 27th OCTOBER 2025
ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON MONDAY 3rd NOVEMBER 2025
Question
"Will the Minister provide the data collected in relation to knife crime (possessing a knife or use of a knife) in schools for each of the last 5 years and is it her assessment that these figures indicate the incidence of possession and use of knives in schools is a cause for concern?"
Answer
The requested data has been provided below.
The very low numbers support that this is not a significant cause for concern, and islanders can be reassured that Jersey is a safe place to live, and to attend school.
Knife-related incidents at schools, by year
Knife-related incident logs have remained relatively consistent since 2020, with all years having between 5 and 8 incidents – apart from 2022 which appears to be an outlier with 4 incidents.
The below data captures all incident logs from 01/01/2020 to 01/10/2025, in which there is any reference to a knife and the location is recoded as being at a school.
It is important to note that where an incident' is recorded, this does not equate to a prosecution or conviction.
Indeed, in most cases, the incident was resolved by the school, with words of advice being given to the children involved alongside their parents – this is dependent on the school's policy. One incident from 2024 went to parish hall and a written caution was given.
Year | No. of incidents |
2020 | 7 |
2021 | 6 |
2022 | 4 |
2023 | 8 |
2024 | 5 |
2025 | 7 |
Public Order Law Offences
The new Public Order (Jersey) Law 2024 was enacted on 18th October 2024 to included Article 7(1) – " A person who has an offensive weapon in a public place or on school premises commits an offence." The introduction of this legislation therefore makes possession of a knife or bladed article on school premises a specific offence under law.
Since its introduction on 18th October 2024, just 2 offences at a school have been recorded under Article 7(1) of the Public Order Law.
The Community Policing Team work closely with Secondary Schools and have delivered educational inputs to a small number of Schools who have reported an issue or concern.
Numbers within the Island remain very low. It is important to note that all incidents are exclusive possession of a knife with no injuries being recorded.