Children as young as 10 caught carrying weapons, police figures show

Pre-teen children have been caught with knives, drugs, and other stolen items by police stop-and-search teams.

One incident in the east of Edinburgh led to a ten-year-old being found with a bladed weapon on an evening last July.

Several 12-year-olds across the country were searched and found to be carrying weapons and class B drugs, including a girl in Ayr in June.

And in east Fife, a 14-year-old was caught with a firearm when officers were called to an incident in September.

Police Scotland said officers work in line with a strict code of practice, especially when searching young people.

The Scottish Police Federation, which represents the rank-and-file, said a reduction of officers in schools and communities means that “preventative” opportunities are being missed.

Analysis of all stop-and-search data, published today by 1919 Magazine, shows that children aged between ten and 17 were responsible for 123 cases where a weapon was found between April and September 2024. That accounts for more than a quarter of positive weapons searches for all age groups.

The incidents were spread across the country and, including drugs and stolen goods, children under the age of 18 were subject to 566 successful searches in that period.

Of the 123 positive weapon searches, 25 were carried out for care and welfare reasons, while a further five were triggered for “protection of life.”

Scottish Police Federation chair David Threadgold said: “Police officers who face members of the public in possession of knives or any other weapon are required to make immediate decisions to try to de-escalate those situations, and there are occasions where it is simply impossible to establish the age of the person involved.

“Officers are trained and understand that their actions must be justifiable and subject to the appropriate scrutiny.

“As police officers have largely withdrawn from school environments, the visibility of the police in our communities is less – and the police are seen in communities as merely a reactive force.

“Along with a reducing – if any – preventative element to policing, opportunities are being missed to develop the type of relationships and intelligence gathering that may form part of the solution to this.”

Katy Clark, Scottish Labour’s community safety spokesperson, said: “The fact that children still young enough to play with toys are walking around with potential murder weapons is deeply disturbing.

“Not only does it create a potentially volatile situation for policing, but it is a sign that children are being led down a path of crime before they have even reached their teens.

“The seeming increase of criminal behaviour is highly concerning.

“The SNP must support the police to work with schools, social workers and others supporting young people while also ensuring they have the resources to tackle the organised criminals who are bringing these weapons into our communities in the first place.”

Scottish Conservative justice spokesperson Liam Kerr added: “SNP ministers have been asleep at the wheel while crime has spiralled out of control in Scotland, and more and more youngsters are at risk of getting caught up in such offences.

“They need to wake up to the gravity of this situation and ensure that our children are educated against falling into a life of crime and also provide police with the resources they need to keep communities safe.”

But the Scottish Government highlighted that £4m has been invested in the last two years in violence prevention, while 1.3 million young people across Scotland have been supported through various community and education initiatives.

A government spokesperson said: “It is wrong to suggest that crime has spiralled out of control when recorded crime is down 40% since 2006/07.

“It is unacceptable that any child or young person is caught with weapons, drugs or stolen goods. Preventing children from going down a path where they are in conflict with the law and supporting them appropriately, constructively and effectively when they do, has been integral to our approach for over a decade.

“We have invested more than £4 million over the last two years to implement the actions set out in the Violence Prevention Framework. The Scottish Government initiative ‘CashBack for Communities’, an early intervention/prevention programme that is funded by money recovered through the Proceeds of Crime Act, has supported around 1.3 million young people across all 32 local authorities.

“Police Scotland and their council partners may increase patrols targeting those involved in disorder and criminality. Anyone with information should report this to them.”