Policeman in every school: borough gets tough on youth crime

A London borough is to station a police officer in every secondary school.

Ealing says the plan will improve relations between the police and pupils while tackling any incidents that occur.

Community support officers will also be sent into primary schools to work with children from the age of five.

The £525,000, two-year scheme follows a call by ministers for more officers to be sent into schools across England to tackle knife crime. Already this year 26 teenagers have been killed in violent incidents in the capital.

Superintendent Ian Jenkins of Ealing police said he wanted officers to have a permanent place in schools.

He stressed that the move was not a response to any particular problems in the borough.

Authority over typical school discipline issues, such as squabbles between pupils, would remain with headteachers, he said. But "if a student is coming to their school with a knife in their possession then we need to treat that as a serious matter. It may well be that the person will be arrested, more often than not.

"All the headteachers are hugely supportive about stopping knives going into schools."

The initiative is aimed mainly at improving relations between the police and the community. "Throughout the school day the officer will spend the majority of their time there and when school finishes the officer will be there as well," said Mr Jenkins.

"The children don't see the officer in a confrontational role."

More than 400 schools work with police officers across England in the Safer School Partnerships programme.

Previously, six officers had links to 14 secondary schools in Ealing but now each school will have its own dedicated constable, apart from two, which are sharing one Pc.

Mr Jenkins said community support officers would visit primaries in the area so children could learn about the role of police from an early age. Officers will also help identify any children at risk of turning to anti-social behaviour.

In July, London schools minister Lord Adonis said he wanted to see more police based in comprehensives to help search pupils for knives. "Nothing is more imperative than that we keep weapons out of schools," he said.

The Government stresses that discipline is improving and knife incidents in educational establishments are rare.

Shadow schools minister Nick Gibb said: "It's very sad that this local authority feels the need to have police permanently based in schools, but it reflects parents' concerns about the extent to which discipline has deteriorated.

"A safe and ordered classroom environment is crucial if children are to be able to learn.

"We need to give teachers more powers to restore order to the classroom so they can deal with discipline problems before they spiral out of control."

Laying down the law at lunchbreak

PC DAVE PREECE has become wellknown at Greenford High School in Southall.

He regularly helps staff on lunch break duty in the canteen, tracks down pupils who fail to turn up and deals with the occasional incident.

Teachers are so pleased with the arrangement that he has become a daily presence as part of Ealing's expansion of police working in the borough's schools.

Greenford High's deputy head Colin Horsley said: "We are very happy with the service. He might be in the canteen or around the school - he is generally a positive presence, not a heavy-handed policing presence, and he has a good relationship with the students."