Teachers to get powers to search pupils for drugs and alcohol
Teachers will be given powers to search pupils for drugs and alcohol as part of a new drive to restore discipline in schools.
School staff will also be able to check pupils for cigarettes and stolen property, as well as alcohol and drugs - and parents will be informed of the results in mobile phone text messages and emails.
A Government-commissioned report by Sir Alan Steer, recommends extending existing powers to search young people for weapons to cover other items which should not be brought into the classroom.
Teachers will soon have "stop & search" powers as they attempt to halt the spread of drugs in schools.
Welcoming the report, Ed Balls, the Children's Secretary, said: "I want to build on the powers we have already given teachers following Sir Alan's earlier recommendations on searching for weapons by extending these to cover drugs, alcohol and other inappropriate items.
"It will ensure that everyone knows that a teacher's authority in the classroom is unquestionable and teachers are clear about their right to use them.''
Schools are already allowed to search pupils for knives and other weapons, and head teachers are able to apply for funds from their local authority to buy technology such as arch and wand metal detectors.
A number of teenagers have been murdered in or close to their schools in recent years, including Kiyan Prince, a 15-year-old young footballer from north west London, who was stabbed to death with a pen knife by a fellow pupil who was losing an after school "play fight".
In future, the Government wants more heads to work with police to establish "Safer School Partnerships" to drive out weapons, drugs and alcohol from their schools, while "parent advisors" will be asked to contribute suggestions in the event of trouble.
In the second of his planned three reports into discipline in schools, which ministers hope will help tackle youth crime more generally, Sir Alan will also say that alcohol remains more of a problem than drugs in most schools.
He wants teachers to be able to take advantage of new technology to keep in greater contact with parents about their children's behaviour.
A pupil who misbehaved in class could be reported to his or her parents via email or text message.
They will also be contacted if there are concerns about a teenagers attendance or punctuality.
Sir Alan, who is headteacher of a school in Ilford, east London, will call for better training for teachers to deal with unruly behaviour, with more detailed recommendations to be published in his final report due out in the autumn.
Despite public concern about unruly behaviour among school children, he insisted he remained "extremely optimistic" about the situation in most schools, adding: "There will always be problems in bringing up the young but these should not be exaggerated.
"I believe that the vast majority of young people are as idealistic, committed and enthusiastic as they ever were and that standards of behaviour in schools are generally good. I also believe that most parents are responsible and caring."
A recent report for the Department for Children found that 92 per cent of parents felt they were involved in their education, but Sir Alan said that the Government should not be complacent.
Exclusions were down seven per cent to 8,680, as head teachers have been told to concentrate on "short sharp" suspensions instead of permanent expulsion.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk
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UK: Teachers to get powers to search pupils for drugs and a
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greenleaf420
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Not like The States then...greenleaf420 wrote:oh they serious its comin from the uk one fucked up country for crime
Seriously though, this would be awful, a complete breach of civil rights.
If someone is caught smoking a doobie at school then of course. give them a search; but it's not right that people can just be searched for no reason whatsoever.
The police can't even search you without a good reason.
It seems to me that if this goes through we're one step nearer to having police/armed security forces in schools like in The States and we really don't want that.
M8 i live in birmingham but have also lived in Plymouth, Tiverton (very small town in Devon), Tamworth (large town outside birmingham), Polesworth (small village outside birmingham) and Kingsbury (very small village near birmingham) over the last 32 years. All these places have big problems from drugs,weapons,booze, and gangs including the villages and most being SCHOOL KIDS.Tall Guy wrote: What a load of shite. Apart from a very few inner city areas the UK is a very safe place. Don't believe all you read in the tabloids...
Come have a holiday for a week with me i will take you to these places to see for yourself. I am 100% sure you would change your mind.
The press only put in a small bits of the problem otherwise your daily paper would be like a novel!
Or maybe you should move to the more civilised North?Kermit wrote:M8 i live in birmingham but have also lived in Plymouth, Tiverton (very small town in Devon), Tamworth (large town outside birmingham), Polesworth (small village outside birmingham) and Kingsbury (very small village near birmingham) over the last 32 years. All these places have big problems from drugs,weapons,booze, and gangs including the villages and most being SCHOOL KIDS.Tall Guy wrote: What a load of shite. Apart from a very few inner city areas the UK is a very safe place. Don't believe all you read in the tabloids...
Come have a holiday for a week with me i will take you to these places to see for yourself. I am 100% sure you would change your mind.
The press only put in a small bits of the problem otherwise your daily paper would be like a novel!
Seriously though, how many times have you personally been a victim of crime?
It's hardly Soweto is it?
To be honest i have had attempted muggings (More than i can remember in the last 2 years) but the mugger always comes off worse. I have even been arrested for defending myself and despatching the mugger to hospital (twice). I have a criminal record for there offence.(Its a joke)Tall Guy wrote:Or maybe you should move to the more civilised North?
Seriously though, how many times have you personally been a victim of crime?
It's hardly Soweto is it?
I was attacked in my sleep by a burglar who put me in hospital for 2 weeks(That was 10 years ago).
I have been stabbed/slashed four times as a 16-18 year old and still have the scars (that was (16 years ago).
Cars stolen (By kids) whilst living in Tiverton Devon (VERY SMALL TOWN)
The list goes on and the police are powerless. If we can stop it at a young age then it MUST BE DONE.
And is the north more civilised? my m8 who lives in Doncaster would disagree (BOOZE A BIG PROBLEM)
You can't seriously tell me that's a normal tally...you must be a trouble maker/magnet - I cause no bother to anyone, and get none back.Kermit wrote:To be honest i have had attempted muggings (More than i can remember in the last 2 years) but the mugger always comes off worse. I have even been arrested for defending myself and despatching the mugger to hospital (twice). I have a criminal record for there offence.(Its a joke)Tall Guy wrote:Or maybe you should move to the more civilised North?
Seriously though, how many times have you personally been a victim of crime?
It's hardly Soweto is it?
I was attacked in my sleep by a burglar who put me in hospital for 2 weeks(That was 10 years ago).
I have been stabbed/slashed four times as a 16-18 year old and still have the scars (that was (16 years ago).
Cars stolen (By kids) whilst living in Tiverton Devon (VERY SMALL TOWN)
The list goes on and the police are powerless. If we can stop it at a young age then it MUST BE DONE.
And is the north more civilised? my m8 who lives in Doncaster would disagree (BOOZE A BIG PROBLEM)
I can hear what you're saying to a certain degree, Tall Guy - I'm from up North and remember the days when you didn't need to lock your doors at night but live in the same city as Kermit now...
I've been a victim of crime more than once - I go out of my way not to draw attention to myself and do not consider myself a trouble-magnet of any sort, and yet I was put in hospital a few years back with a fractured skull, brain hemorrhage and permanent loss of hearing in one ear due to being set upon by a streetgang one sunny lunchtime.
I've been burgled and mugged, pick-pocketed and f@&k knows what else over the years and although no, it's not Soweto, I didn't move here with the thought that this was going to happen to me - it's just something that can happen anywhere... if the conditions breed that sort of behaviour.
I know that when I was a kid, growing up in Yorkshire, if I mis-behaved, I'd get a good clout - either from parents, or in those days, from the local Police. Nowadays, the kids are just as likely to pull a knife on you or even a 9mm. I agree most vehemently that if many of the young louts wandering the streets looking for trouble were given the proper discipline from the get-go, then they would be much less likely to be adding to the crime figures - especially those inflicted upon the innocents like you and me.
I used to be a teacher myself and when you have a kid pull a knife on you (or even just take a swing at you!) in your own classroom, as I have, do you know what the guidelines say you must do? You have to let them make the first move before you are permitted to use any sort of force to protect yourself. Otherwise you end up in court under charges yourself.
That's no joke.
Next to my bed is a very nasty (very sharp) hunting knife - just in case someone decides to make an unscheduled visit in the middle of the night - do you think I'd report it though? Your average burglar is probably not very likely to leave a list of the addresses they plan on "visiting", and so if they were to just disappear, who would know where they went?
Now don't get me wrong - I'm not planning on using the pig-farming contacts I've made over the years to dispose of any, ahem, unwanted guests! I'm not a gangster, nor do I have aspirations to become one. Let's just say I'll do whatever is necessary to protect myself and my property.
If you're fortunate enough to have never seen the nastier side of life - then good on ya. I hope it continues... I really do. Unfortunately the reality of it is this - when the circumstances fall into that unhappy combination of wrong time/wrong place, then your views may change, given time and the chance that you'll have survived whatever has befallen you.
In keeping with my self-appointed position of "not-trying-to-cause-trouble-to-others", let me just say that I'm not trying to take sides here, or cause offence to anyone, but until you've experienced this kind of crap first-hand, you really don't know what it's like or how it feels.
Leaving a job you've done for years, because it no longer provides you with the level of safety you'd hope for, or leaving a place you've lived in for years because after finding everything you own either gone or destroyed, you just don't feel safe there either? I wouldn't wish those feelings on anyone, so excuse me if I seem a little old-fashioned when it comes to the "Spare the rod, spoil the child" adage.
I've seen too many promising young kids get dragged down by the wrong kind of influences - there's no place for drugs or weapons in schools - unless you even the playing field and give 'em to the teachers too.
Yep. Drugs and weapons for teachers. Now just let the students' attention span drop in class when Mr.Smith's tooled up and off his face on PCP...
.
I've been a victim of crime more than once - I go out of my way not to draw attention to myself and do not consider myself a trouble-magnet of any sort, and yet I was put in hospital a few years back with a fractured skull, brain hemorrhage and permanent loss of hearing in one ear due to being set upon by a streetgang one sunny lunchtime.
I've been burgled and mugged, pick-pocketed and f@&k knows what else over the years and although no, it's not Soweto, I didn't move here with the thought that this was going to happen to me - it's just something that can happen anywhere... if the conditions breed that sort of behaviour.
I know that when I was a kid, growing up in Yorkshire, if I mis-behaved, I'd get a good clout - either from parents, or in those days, from the local Police. Nowadays, the kids are just as likely to pull a knife on you or even a 9mm. I agree most vehemently that if many of the young louts wandering the streets looking for trouble were given the proper discipline from the get-go, then they would be much less likely to be adding to the crime figures - especially those inflicted upon the innocents like you and me.
I used to be a teacher myself and when you have a kid pull a knife on you (or even just take a swing at you!) in your own classroom, as I have, do you know what the guidelines say you must do? You have to let them make the first move before you are permitted to use any sort of force to protect yourself. Otherwise you end up in court under charges yourself.
That's no joke.
Next to my bed is a very nasty (very sharp) hunting knife - just in case someone decides to make an unscheduled visit in the middle of the night - do you think I'd report it though? Your average burglar is probably not very likely to leave a list of the addresses they plan on "visiting", and so if they were to just disappear, who would know where they went?
Now don't get me wrong - I'm not planning on using the pig-farming contacts I've made over the years to dispose of any, ahem, unwanted guests! I'm not a gangster, nor do I have aspirations to become one. Let's just say I'll do whatever is necessary to protect myself and my property.
If you're fortunate enough to have never seen the nastier side of life - then good on ya. I hope it continues... I really do. Unfortunately the reality of it is this - when the circumstances fall into that unhappy combination of wrong time/wrong place, then your views may change, given time and the chance that you'll have survived whatever has befallen you.
In keeping with my self-appointed position of "not-trying-to-cause-trouble-to-others", let me just say that I'm not trying to take sides here, or cause offence to anyone, but until you've experienced this kind of crap first-hand, you really don't know what it's like or how it feels.
Leaving a job you've done for years, because it no longer provides you with the level of safety you'd hope for, or leaving a place you've lived in for years because after finding everything you own either gone or destroyed, you just don't feel safe there either? I wouldn't wish those feelings on anyone, so excuse me if I seem a little old-fashioned when it comes to the "Spare the rod, spoil the child" adage.
I've seen too many promising young kids get dragged down by the wrong kind of influences - there's no place for drugs or weapons in schools - unless you even the playing field and give 'em to the teachers too.
Yep. Drugs and weapons for teachers. Now just let the students' attention span drop in class when Mr.Smith's tooled up and off his face on PCP...
.
Interesting stuff from everyone...
The people on this thread that think something needs to be done about levels of violence and crime are right.
The people on this thread that think that this new bill is bad news are also right.
The point is that violence/crime in society needs to be addressed but the removal of civil liberties isn't the answer.
If kids are getting worse (I actually don't beleive that to be the case) then this won't help.
It's much easier for The Government to pass these media friendly quick fix solutions than actually looking at why kids feel the need to do this shit in the first place.
Supplying good education, decent housing, projects/schemes and equal job oppurtunities is what is needed but sadly that is too much like hard work for this government and because it wouldn't come to any sort of fruition for many years (at a time when they may not be in power anymore and therefore wouldn't get the credit) they will instead pass knee jerk, tabloid friendly bills.
I have been a victim of crime (par for the course pretty much everywhere i would imagine) and I sympathise with people who have been less fortunate at the hands of criminals than myself but remember if this goes through you will not be any safer, you will just be losing your rights.
It's a very slippery slope...
I'm fucked if I'm going to lose my hard earned rights because The Government is to lazy and greedy to put decent systems in place.
The people on this thread that think something needs to be done about levels of violence and crime are right.
The people on this thread that think that this new bill is bad news are also right.
The point is that violence/crime in society needs to be addressed but the removal of civil liberties isn't the answer.
If kids are getting worse (I actually don't beleive that to be the case) then this won't help.
It's much easier for The Government to pass these media friendly quick fix solutions than actually looking at why kids feel the need to do this shit in the first place.
Supplying good education, decent housing, projects/schemes and equal job oppurtunities is what is needed but sadly that is too much like hard work for this government and because it wouldn't come to any sort of fruition for many years (at a time when they may not be in power anymore and therefore wouldn't get the credit) they will instead pass knee jerk, tabloid friendly bills.
I have been a victim of crime (par for the course pretty much everywhere i would imagine) and I sympathise with people who have been less fortunate at the hands of criminals than myself but remember if this goes through you will not be any safer, you will just be losing your rights.
It's a very slippery slope...
I'm fucked if I'm going to lose my hard earned rights because The Government is to lazy and greedy to put decent systems in place.
m8 i am family man with kids, work hard(Currently at home looking after my newborn),and pay my taxes. I respect the police and have only been in trouble for smoking Bud (CAUTIONS) and for defending myself from being mugged(TWICE).Tall Guy wrote:You can't seriously tell me that's a normal tally...you must be a trouble maker/magnet - I cause no bother to anyone, and get none back.Kermit wrote:To be honest i have had attempted muggings (More than i can remember in the last 2 years) but the mugger always comes off worse. I have even been arrested for defending myself and despatching the mugger to hospital (twice). I have a criminal record for there offence.(Its a joke)Tall Guy wrote:Or maybe you should move to the more civilised North?
Seriously though, how many times have you personally been a victim of crime?
It's hardly Soweto is it?
I was attacked in my sleep by a burglar who put me in hospital for 2 weeks(That was 10 years ago).
I have been stabbed/slashed four times as a 16-18 year old and still have the scars (that was (16 years ago).
Cars stolen (By kids) whilst living in Tiverton Devon (VERY SMALL TOWN)
The list goes on and the police are powerless. If we can stop it at a young age then it MUST BE DONE.
And is the north more civilised? my m8 who lives in Doncaster would disagree (BOOZE A BIG PROBLEM)
I smoke weed, Do not drink and never have done, I dont even smoke fags just a bit in a joint.
My point is you dont have to be a trouble maker/magnet to get bother.these kids target defenceless people and expect to get away with it, you defend yourself you get nicked they get off.
Parents are not doing there job with these kids letting them carry weapons around (AND TO SCHOOL) so we can nip it in the bud
in the schools. 
Nice1
M8 They are not old enough to smoke they are school kids in the U.Ksh@dy wrote:and you think by searching them for drugs will save them from doing crimes? I hope you dont. this will only bring more pupils to a criminal record for smoking dope.Kermit wrote: The list goes on and the police are powerless. If we can stop it at a young age then it MUST BE DONE.
