EVERY Southampton secondary school now has a metal detecting wand on site to help in the fight against knife crime, the Daily Echo can reveal.
All 14 of the city's secondary schools, as well as eight primary and junior schools, have accepted the metal detectors issued by police. Southampton's two main colleges - Southampton City College in St Mary Street and Itchen College in Middle Road, Sholing - have also each taken two of the hand-held devices, that can be used to scan pupils for knives and blades.
Head teachers at eight primary and junior schools have refused to take the instruments, which can be swiped over a pupil's clothing to check that they are not carrying weapons. A further nine schools are yet to make a decision on whether to take one.
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The wands were rolled out earlier this year after months of talks between police and council bosses. It is one of a number of initiatives being used to tackle the city's knife crime problem.
The launch came as police in conjunction with the Daily Echo launched a joint anti-knife campaign to encourage people not to carry a blade, and to highlight the dangers of doing so.
Operation Sharp was officially launched in March, with the backing of Jeanette Singleton, the mother of 18-year-old Lewis Singleton, who was murdered as he walked home from a night out.
Lewis died hours after being stabbed repeatedly as he walked along Obelisk Road in Woolston with a friend.
Costing £30 each, the wands were funded by the Southampton Safe City Partnership, a group made up of police, council, health and youth service representatives.
The aim was to distribute them to every school, where a total of 27,228 pupils aged five to 16 are in education, along with clear guidance for head teachers and designated staff on how to use them.
Paula Evans, Southampton City Council's principal officer for inclusion, said: "Using a search wand is optional and always has been. The majority of Southamp-ton schools, including all secondary schools and some primary schools, now have a wand. Many schools felt that they did not need one because of the excellent relationship of trust they have with their pupils and parents.
"Others felt the same but accepted the wands just in case, and all hope never to have to use it. All our schools have clear guidelines that if they suspect a child may have brought something inappropriate into school they should call police."
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