Police Scotland carry out 115 school weapon raids in six months

Police Scotland have been forced to reveal the alarming number of reports of possession of a weapon or blade in a school since April.

The details, provided by a Freedom of Information request, showed the highest numbers were recorded in Tayside and Fife with 34 weapon busts in schools.

The figures have laid bare the full extent of the problem in local schools, with 22 offences recorded in Tayside alone — the highest of any divisional area in Scotland between April and October this year.

At least 12 of the cases recorded across Dundee, Angus, and Perth and Kinross – more than half the total number recovered – involved weapons known to have been used in other crimes.

In Fife, a further 12 weapons offences were recorded.

Eight involved an article with a blade or a point – second to Forth Valley with nine.

Shadow justice secretary Liam Kerr, MSP, called for the Scottish Government to take urgent action. He said: “The Scottish Government has said the rate of knife crime is falling overall, but the number of these crimes involving young people is up 11 per cent.”

Kitchen knives, ninja stars and a hacksaw have been among items recovered in Scottish schools.