The Scottish Government has been urged to investigate any new laws which could be brought in to stop “terrifying” weapons being bought online.
One of Andrew Lowe’s key recommendations of his review was for Holyrood to “explore further legislative controls” as it was revealed that 15 incidents involving knives in Aberdeen schools had been reported to police since November last year.
Bailey’s schoolboy killer had purchased the knife he used for the crime on a popular website and had also bought knuckle dusters online.
Speaking at the press conference yesterday, Chief Superintendent Campbell Thomson said the ease of buying weapons was “shocking” but admitted he did not “know what the answer is”.
He said: “I think that it’s right that the issue has been highlighted in the report.
“I think the ease by which not only weapons but other harmful products can reach our children is something we’re all looking at not only as individual organisations but collectively as agencies.”
He added that in the 15 cases that there had been a variety of reasons for the youngsters bringing blades into school.
He said: “Should we be called to a school in relation to a knife incident then we would have reasonable suspicion that someone was carrying a knife.
“Each one (of the 15 cases) the school has informed us in relation to the incident and we’ve attended.
“We then undertake the stop search.
“We have to look at the causal factors of why that person is carrying a knife or otherwise and we have to look at the potential victim.
“Beyond that we need to look to the perpetrator. This is not about criminalising children… it’s about looking at the causal factors around that, and even just off the top of my head some of the areas a knife was taken to school was for an art class, and we have knives taken to school potentially for self-harm.”
Earlier this year, the P&J revealed a boy had been charged after taking a knife into Milne’s High School at Fochabers.
A teenage boy was also charged after taking a knife into Fraserburgh Academy, while a 10-year-old boy was caught with a blade at a primary school in the Fraserburgh area and a boy was found with a knife at a primary school in Aberdeen.
In August, a young boy was found with a penknife in the playground of a city school.
Mr Lowe said: “Another shocking fact revealed by this is the ease to purchase the most terrifying of weapons online and it’s proved in this case that it’s possible to purchase without parental approval.”
Justice Secretary Michael Matheson said the Scottish Government would consider the findings and report back in due course.
