Teachers and pupils have expressed their fears over plans by the Metropolitan Police to remove more than 300 specialist officers from long-held posts in London schools.
Headteachers have warned that pupils will be put at greater risk of violence and exploitation by gangs if the force presses ahead with its decision to withdraw 371 safer schools officers (SSOs) from their posts, starting from next month.
One pupil expressed fears that “there will be more knives” and “drugs coming into school with nobody to actually stop it” if the plans to transfer SSOs into neighbourhood policing teams goes ahead.
Scotland Yard has written to headteachers saying the decision was “not made lightly”, after warning it had been forced into “tough choices” amid a £260m budget shortfall, which is expected to result in 1,700 layoffs.
The force argued that, in their new posts, the transferred officers “will retain strong relationships with schools to ensure that any reports of knife crime can be dealt with quickly”.
Arguing that the “primary risk” to young people “exists outside the school grounds, for example, in the travel corridor between school and home,” the force added: “That is why we are changing our approach to ensure our efforts are focused on the wider community.”
But in a joint letter, seen by The Independent, 15 headteachers from schools in northeast London have warned the Met that, “without the support of safer school officers, vulnerable students may become prey to exploitation and, in turn, perpetrators of crime”.
The headteachers warned that such officers “play a critical role in ensuring the safety and well-being of students”, adding: “They are highly effective at addressing potential problems before they spiral out of control.”
Knife crime rose 18 per cent in London to hit a record high of 16,521 offences during the year to September 2024, according to the Office for National Statistics.
Figures obtained by The Independent last year showed that police received 37 reports of attacks involving blades or sharp instruments during term time in London schools in 2023, and 173 regarding incidents of weapon possession, which can also include broken glass.
SSOs were first introduced to schools in 2009 and – by 2023 – there were close to 1,000 operating across the UK, data obtained by the Runnymede Trust showed – with the charity warning at the time of a “deeply concerning” and “normalised” police presence.
Pointing to the Child Q scandal, in which a Black schoolgirl was strip-searched by police while on her period and without another adult present, after being wrongly suspected of carrying cannabis, the charity criticised “the highly racialised and damaging impact excessive force can have inside a school setting”, and called for the removal of SSOs.
But with such a move now set to happen en masse in London, Chris Hall, headteacher of Footsteps Trust in Haringey, told Sky News that SSOs had been “very, very, valuable assets” who had helped familiarise “young people with the police in the most positive way”.
One 14-year-old pupil at the Footsteps Trust told the broadcaster that “if anything happens outside of school you can tell them [SSOs] and let them know”, warning: “There will be more knives. There will be fighting, there will be drugs coming into school and no one will be there to actually stop it.”
A Metropolitan Police spokesperson told the Evening Standard: “Children should be able to travel to and from school and study without the fear of violence.
“This is where we know young people are most at risk of violence and gangs, and it is where our officers will continue to be, ensuring that they are able to quickly respond to any incidents or concerns in the community.
“Although officers will no longer be based in schools, they will join local policing teams where they will retain strong relationships with schools to ensure that any reports of knife crime can be dealt with quickly.
“Officers will also work with local organisations and other youth based establishments to safeguard young people, prevent victimisation and reduce crime and anti-social behaviour beyond schools.”
