By Adam Morris
Police catch a child carrying a knife every four days in Scotland, new analysis by 1919 has revealed.
There were 91 cases of an under-18 being found in possession of a blade or pointed weapon in 2024 by officers using stop-and-search powers.
Teens now account for almost a third of positive knife searches across all age groups, and the figures come amid several high-profile cases involving youths and deadly weapons.
Two teenagers have died in the last three months, while other incidents involving knife-related disorder have been reported across the country. Last month there was an alleged stabbing at Portobello beach in Edinburgh (pictured above) following reports of a large-scale disturbance.
Elsewhere, three boys were arrested and charged following the death of Amen Teklay, 15, in Glasgow, and two male teens have been charged after 16-year-old Kayden Moy was killed in North Ayrshire.
The issue has subsequently dominated Scotland’s political debate and prompted First Minister John Swinney to issue a reassurance about his government’s commitment to youth disorder.
Both Police Scotland and the Scottish Government offered strong defences of stop-and-search policy, the latter adding it had invested more than £6 million in violence prevention since 2023.
But the Scottish Conservatives said “soft-touch” sentencing policies which lessen the punishment for under 25s are “emboldening” young people to carry weapons.
“These alarming figures lay bare just how drastically knife crime has spiralled out of control,” said MSP Sharon Dowey, the party’s community safety spokesperson.
“There must be meaningful punishments for those who use a knife, and expanded stop-and-search powers for police to act as a deterrent.”
Analysis of the official stop-and-search data reveals the young age of some of those involved.
The new analysis shows that a 10-year-old was caught with a knife in the east of Edinburgh last July, while 12-year-olds were found carrying blades in the capital, Ayrshire, Glasgow and Lanarkshire throughout 2024.
And more than a dozen kids aged 13, two of them girls, were also subjected to a positive blade search.
Labour’s justice spokesperson Pauline McNeill called for more early intervention schemes and criticised ministers for failing to act on the issue.
She added: “These shocking figures are yet another sign that there is a youth violence epidemic in Scotland.
“Each one of these 91 cases is very serious for our communities and potentially serious for those actually carrying the weapon.”
Violence reduction expert and former Police Scotland superintendent Niven Rennie warned against “demonising kids”.
“It would be equally valid to say that for three days, despite searching young people, police found no knives,” he said.
“Politicians blame our young people, yet we have austerity, Brexit, cost-of-living and numerous other political decisions that impoverish many and remove support mechanisms like youth clubs.
“We need to offer our children hope and opportunity.”
David Threadgold, chair of the Scottish Police Federation, called for more effective preventative strategies.
“Each one of the truly shocking statistics is a justifiable and evidenced-based reaction by the police to an increasingly concerning societal trend we now see emerging among younger members of our communities in Scotland,” he said.
“Each of these statistics is a real situation which created significant risk for my colleagues, as well as potentially life changing consequences for the perpetrator, and sadly – as we have seen so tragically across Scotland recently – the victim of knife crime, their families and friends.
“The solution to this problem cannot rest alone with the police; much greater and more effective preventative strategies have to be in place across Scotland.”
He warned against “soundbites” from politicians and asked: “As long as we cut police officer numbers, continue with a programme of closing police stations, and are forced to develop responses such as the ‘proportionate response to crime’ in an attempt to deal with unsustainable demand for our services, can we truly become strongly integrated in our communities to allow the development of the type of relationships that would allow us to play our part in keeping our communities safe?”
Chief constable Jo Farrell said last month that while violent crime in Scotland is at “historically low levels”, she held deeper concerns about recent developments.
In an update to the Scottish Police Authority, she said: “I am concerned about some of the trends around violent crime committed by young people, and often committed against other young people, and we think a notable proportion of that is happening in and around schools.”
First Minister John Swinney has said he shares the “devastation about the loss of young lives” and recently told MSPs of a three-step approach to the issue – early intervention through education programmes, school and community engagement, and effective punishment when offences take place.
A spokesperson for the Scottish Government said: “Stop-and-search powers should be used where lawful, necessary and proportionate.
“Their use in individual cases is an operational matter for Police Scotland.
“Police do use stop-and-search, and it is one tool to tackle violence alongside a range of other measures such as prevention and education.”