FOI 1109-2024/25 Weapons in Schools

Request
Q1. The number of crimes reports where a child under the age of 18 was in possession of a weapon on school/further education premises? 

Please provide data for the following calendar years: 2014, 2019, 2023, 2024

Within this - please provide:
Breakdown of type of weapons used (please list examples if you cannot provide a full breakdown)
Breakdown of the ages of the children (e.g. Under 4, 4-6, 6-8, 8-10, 10-12, 12-14, 14-16, 16-18)
Breakdown of gender (male and female)

Q2. The number of crime reports where a child under the age of 18 has committed the following offences on school/further education premises?

Please provide data for each offence for the following calendar years: 2014, 2019, 2023, 2024 

1. a)  Common Assault & Battery
2. b) ABH (s47)
3. b) GBH (s20)
4. c) Wounding with or without a weapon (s18)

Within this - please provide:
Breakdown of the number of victims who was a pupil
Breakdown of the number of victims who was a member of staff
Breakdown of the ages of the children (e.g. Under 4, 4-6, 6-8, 8-10, 10-12, 12-14, 14-16, 16-18)
Breakdown of gender (male and female)

Q3. The number of crime reports where a child under the age of 18 was threatening someone with a weapon on school/further education premises? 

Please provide data for the following calendar years: 2014, 2019, 2023, 2024

Within this - please provide:
Breakdown of type of weapons used (please list examples if you cannot provide a full breakdown)
Breakdown of the ages of the children (e.g. Under 4, 4-6, 6-8, 8-10, 10-12, 12-14, 14-16, 16-18)
Breakdown of gender (male and female)

Extent and Result of Searches to Locate Information
To locate the information relevant to your request searches were conducted within North Yorkshire Police.

I can confirm that the information you have requested is held by North Yorkshire Police. 

Decision
I have today decided to disclose the following information to you.

Q1. Please see the table below showing the number of ‘Possession of Weapons’ crimes that occurred in a place of education with an offender under the age of 18 and with a related entity type of ‘Weapon’ in calendar years 2014, 2019, 2023 and 2024, broken down by weapon type. I am exempting the age and gender of individuals pursuant to Section 40(2) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the Act). Please see the below exemption explanation.

Q2. Please see the table below showing all crimes of 'Actual Bodily Harm And Other Injury', 'Racially Or Religiously Aggravated Actual Bodily Harm And Other Injury', 'Inflicting Grievous Bodily Harm Without Intent', 'Racially Or Religiously Aggravated Inflicting Grievous Bodily Harm Without Intent', 'Wounding Or Carrying Out An Act Endangering Life’ and 'Common assault and battery' that occurred in a place of education with an offender unde the age of 18 in the calendar years 2014, 2019, 2023 and 2024. As above, I am exempting the age and gender of individuals pursuant to Section 40(2) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the Act). Please see the below exemption explanation.

Please note that the identity of the victim (pupil or staff member) is not mandatorily recorded and therefore relies on an officer updating the MO remarks. As such, I have reviewed the MO remarks of the above crimes, and where this is recorded I have provided the number below:

Q3. Nil return. This is based on a search of the following crimes that occurred in a place of education with an offender under the age of 18 and with a related entity type of ‘Weapon’ in CY 2014, 2019, 2023 and 2024:

• 'Threaten a person with an article in a private place. Offensive Weapons Act 2019 Sec 52 (1) & (6)'
• 'Threaten a person with an offensive weapon / substance in a private place Offensive Weapons Act 2019 Sec 52 (1) & (6) '
• 'Threaten with a blade or sharply pointed article in a public place. Criminal Justice Act 1988 Sec 139 AA as inserted by Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012.'
• 'Threaten with a blade or sharply pointed article on school premises. Criminal Justice Act 1988 Sec 139 AA as inserted by Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012.'
• 'Threaten with a blade or sharply pointed article on school/further education premises. Criminal Justice Act 1988 Sec 139 AA as inserted by Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012.'
• 'Threaten with an offensive weapon in a public place. Prevention of Crime Act 1953 Sec 1 A (1) as inserted by legal aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012.'
• 'Threaten with an offensive weapon on school premises. Criminal Justice Act 1988 Sec 139 AA as inserted by Legal Aid, Sentancing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012.'
• 'Threaten with an offensive weapon on school/further education premises. Criminal Justice Act 1988 Sec 139 AA as inserted by Legal Aid, Sentancing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012.'

Exemption Explanation

Section 17 of the Act requires North Yorkshire Police, when refusing to provide such information (because the information is exempt) to provide you the applicant with a notice which: (a) states that fact, (b) specifies the exemption in question and (c) states (if that would not otherwise be apparent) why the exemption applies.

Section 40(2) – Personal information
I am exempting the age and gender of individuals to refrain from particular incidents becoming identifiable and consequently the personal details of any persons involved being disclosed.

Where an individual can be identified by such data, releasing it would clearly breach the first data protection principle of being ‘fair’ to the data subject.

Section 40(2) is an absolute class based exemption, which does not require a public interest test, but requires the balancing of the legitimate interests of the public against the interests of the individual under the first Data Protection Principle; in that processing of personal data must be lawful and fair (DPA 2018 35(1), EUGDPR Article 5(1)).

This exemption applies because the right given under the FOI Act to request official information held by public authorities does not apply to the personal data of third parties where disclosure of that information would not be fair to the individual, and where there is no legitimate public interest in disclosure.

In all the circumstances of the case it has been determined that the duty to the individual under the Data Protection Act 2018 & EU General Data Protection Regulations, and the public interest in maintaining the exemption from disclosure of personal information held by the force in such instances, outweighs the public interest in disclosure.  In this instance, personal information can only be disclosed to the individual concerned. 

Releasing personal details to a person other than the data subject would not only breach the data subject’s Data Protection rights it may also breach the obligations placed on an authority under the European Convention on Human Rights.

Pursuant to Section 17(1) of the Act this letter acts as a refusal notice under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 in relation to your request.

Please note that systems used for recording information are not generic, nor are the procedures used locally in capturing the data.  It should be noted therefore that this force’s response to your questions should not be used for comparison purposes with any other responses you may receive.