The organisation representing Scotland’s rank-and-file police officers has called for a blanket ban on mobile phones in schools.
Scottish Police Federation (SPF) general secretary David Kennedy said many issues which arise in children and teenagers stem from use of the devices.
He believes forbidding their use in schools would help tackle problem behaviour.
The Scottish Government said any headteacher who decides to implement a ban on mobile phones has Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth’s support.
The issue came up in a wide-ranging discussion during a fringe event hosted by the SPF at Scottish Labour’s policy conference in Edinburgh last month.
Kennedy said having community officers in schools is “paramount”.
Holding his mobile phone aloft, he added: “The first thing I would ban is these.
“I wouldn’t allow these in the schools. That’s where a lot of the issues we get from an early age now come from.
“We used to run events called ‘Choices for Life’, which we gave to pupils in p6 and p7, but the funding was taken away.
“It wasn’t about telling children not to take drugs, it wasn’t telling them not to drink alcohol, it was about educating them and saying these are the consequences of doing that.
“We haven’t had that for the last 10 to 12 years now, so all that education they were getting before has gone.
“It’s so important that we bring that back.”
“I wouldn’t allow these in the schools”
David Kennedy, Scottish Police Federation general secretary
He added: “By the age of six, their attitudes are already there. So we have to go in at a very early age and try to help the schools and help the parents, who are struggling as well.”
Choices for Life began in the late 1990s as a police-led roadshow for P7 pupils, later expanding into a nationwide programme backed by other organisations.
The events mixed drama, music and messaging on drugs, alcohol and peer pressure, but the initiative shifted online around 2011.
The King’s former school, Gordonstoun in Moray, banned mobile phones during the school day in 2017, and later extended this to cover during homework and overnight for most pupils.
The Scottish Government issued guidance for headteachers last year which said phones could be banned as long as the needs of certain pupils, such as those with medical conditions, were considered.
Pupils at Portobello and Queensferry high schools in Edinburgh were among the first state schools in Scotland to bring in a mobile ban.
Students can take their devices to school, but are required to keep them in lockable pouches until the end of the day.
Schools in other areas have brought in various restrictions, with some year groups at Dunblane High School banned from using phones in the classroom.
Moray Council and Perth and Kinross Council have both approved a ban in the classroom, with Perth prohibiting the devices from being taken into primary schools.
Edinburgh City Council is considering a ban in all its schools, with the cost of providing secure storage estimated to cost up to £495,000.
One Edinburgh teacher told councillors that pupils having access to mobiles in the classroom was comparable to trying to teach “in a casino full of cocaine, and then wondering why no-one can understand what we are saying”.
Scottish Labour backs a nationwide blanket ban.
The party’s education spokesperson Pam Duncan-Glancy MSP said: “Behavioural issues in Scotland’s schools have been boiling over in recent years, with teachers, parents, and pupils crying out for action.
“Scottish Labour believes that schools should be places that are free of violent and aggressive behaviour, where pupils are able to get on and learn.
“The misuse of mobile phones and other devices in schools remains a serious issue, and the SNP has failed to tackle this problem.
“A Scottish Labour government will make classrooms a safe place to learn, ban mobile phones in schools, and address the root causes of school disruption and violence.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “Any headteacher who decides to implement a ban on mobile phones has the Education Secretary’s support – that’s exactly why national guidance was updated last year to make it explicit that schools can take appropriate steps to limit the use of mobile phones, including banning their use in school.
“A number of schools and council areas have banned mobile phones in classrooms since this was introduced.”