Schools urge knife sale clampdown

Fairfax

KNIFE CARRYING: Schools will be given more help in dealing with pupils taking weapons to schools.

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School principals say measures should be put in place to make it difficult for teenagers to buy knives, similar to rules restricting the purchase of spraycans.

The Principals Association welcomed moves to help them search pupils for weapons.

Justice Minister Simon Power has announced proposals to help deal with a rise in knife-carrying. These included increasing the sentence for possessing an offensive weapon from two to three years and a voluntary accord with knife sellers to help restrict sales to teenagers.

But he stopped short of a ban on sales to younger teenagers, such as that in Britain and some Australian states, saying it would be impractical.

Schools will be given more help in dealing with pupils taking weapons to schools after the stabbings of a Te Puke High School teacher in May this year and Avondale College teacher David Warren last year.

It includes new guidelines by the Education Ministry on searching pupils and property such as schoolbags. Schools that had a particular problem could also get extra police at their premises and at after-school hangouts.

Principals Association head Pat Walsh said he had asked for clearer guidelines after the attacks because of a widespread concern about an increase in the number of pupils carrying weapons. These ranged from knives to "modified weapons" such as screwdrivers and hammers.

He agreed a ban was impractical but supported similar measures to those for spraycans, which were kept under lock and key and required identification for sale.

"If you've got a 15-year-old coming in looking for a knife, you'd have to question why they are buying it."

Under the Government's plan, police will work with shopkeepers on a voluntary accord to store knives securely, report instances of a glut of teenagers looking for knives, and refuse to sell a knife if they were concerned about what it was to be used for.

Mr Power said bans proved ineffective because knives were easily obtained. It would also impact on those who used knives for legitimate reasons, such as farmers, chefs and hunters.

Police Association vice-president Chris Cahill said he was happy with the penalty increase and greater education about the dangers of knives. "A number of assaults start as a fist fight, then someone loses it, pulls out a knife and it ends as a homicide."

Under the Summary Offences Act, possession of a knife without reasonable excuse has maximum penalties of up to three months in prison or a $2000 fine. However, knife-bearing can also be dealt with under the tougher provisions in the Crimes Act which has a maximum two-year jail sentence for possessing an offensive weapon.

Mr Power requested a Justice Ministry report on knife crime after Justice Raynor Asher spoke of the need for reform during sentencing of the killer of Daryl Graydon, 26. The 20-year-old man's name was suppressed and he was jailed for 11 years for the stabbing in Auckland in 2007.