Drugs and theft shame as police called to schools 3 times a week

THEFT, possession of drugs and carrying a knife are some of the crimes committed at Cheadle schools.

The Post & Times can reveal that during the academic year, 47 crimes were reported at the town's schools – including Painsley Catholic College and Cheadle High.

The past three terms have seen police called out on 141 occasions – an average of more than three times every week during the 190-day school year.

The figures, released by Staffordshire Police under the Freedom of Information Act, show a slight increase in crimes from 40 for 2007/8.

Sergeant Tim Cooke, of Cheadle Neighbourhood Policing Unit, said: "We have a great working relationship with the schools here to make sure children understand the consequences of crime.

"We have introduced a number of initiatives – including talks on anti-social behaviour and running student surgeries – which I'm sure will pay off in the longer term."

Not all of the crimes – which include 14 assaults, 11 vandalism attacks, 14 thefts, racially or religiously aggravated harassment, carrying a knife, possession of cannabis and improper use of a telephone – happened during teaching hours but all took place within the school grounds.

Officers were also called to schools 94 times in the same period to investigate non-crime related incidents – including 24 of rowdy behaviour, 10 of the alarm being sounded, eight of suspicious people – two of which involved a child – and four trespassers.

Keith Hollins, executive headteacher at Cheadle High, said: "We have a very good working relationship with the police and security is a concern we take extremely seriously. The health and safety of my students and teachers is absolutely my number one priority.

"An anonymous survey we carried out recently showed well in excess of 90 per cent of our students feel safe in school, which is much higher than the national average. In my time here there has never been an issue with any child carrying a knife. If that happened – or we discovered a child with a Class A drug – they would be immediately excluded."

Despite several requests, Frances Tunney, headteacher at Painsley, was unavailable for comment. A Staffordshire County Council spokesman said: "We don't condone crime in Staffordshire schools and we do actively encourage heads to work with their local police to report incidents. However, we are unable to comment on specific incidents."

Figures released for schools in Leek and Uttoxeter reflect a broadly similar crime level relative to each town's size.

A total of 56 crimes have been reported at Leek schools compared to 64 in 2007/8. And at Uttoxeter schools, 39 crimes have been recorded for 2008/9 and 51 for 2007/8. A new initiative to help stop children turning to a life of crime is to be launched in the Moorlands in September.

Police will be holding workshops at schools to educate pupils about the consequences of their actions.