BBC Breakfast today had an extended piece on violence in the classroom increasing.
It made sense in the context of worsening youth violence against adults across society, in England. There are similar reports from BBC Scotland. They don’t make such good sense. More on that below.
First, of direct relevance, from the Guardian on 31 December 2025:
The number of violent offences involving an adolescent attacking their parents or step-parents has increased by more than 60% in the past decade, according to figures recorded by the UK’s biggest police force. Data released by Scotland Yard reveals that there were 1,886 such offences recorded in 2015 but this increased to 3,091 in the first 10 months of 2025 alone.
The offences involved a suspect aged between 10, the age of criminal responsibility in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and 17 who had been recorded as being the child or stepchild of the alleged victim.
‘Scotland Yard’ of course means the Met and London.
Second, not directly relevant but reinforcing the concerns, from ITN on 1 May 2025:
The nation [sic] is facing a chilling new reality: a shocking rise in child killers—and their victims—is gripping Britain. Murder convictions for minors in England and Wales have quadrupled since 2016. This gripping documentary investigates the disturbing rise in youth violence, asking: what’s driving this deadly trend? Through expert insight and heart-wrenching real-life stories, we uncover a toxic mix of online feuds, social media pressure, and deadly weapons.
https://www.itn.co.uk/media-centre/5-documentary-talks-families-children-murdered-their-peers
No comparable data on adolescents attacking adults, for Scotland nor for any of its police divisions is published. In May 2023, a freedom of information request, to Police Scotland, has requested this in but it was refused on cost grounds.
What we do have and little reported in Scotland is this:
Some may find this too sensitive a topic but I feel I must clarify the situation, any trend, in Scotland as a counter ready for the likes of the Scottish opposition leaders or ‘our’ dreadful media, ever ready to paint a dark portrait of life in Scotland under the SNP.
The trend is clearly and definitively the other way.
Average 2004-2008 2009-2013 2014-2018 2019-2024
Above, the official data reveal a steady, statistically significant, falling trend in the number of homicides by minors and those in the senior years, over four 5 years sets (more reliable than 1 year changes), plummeting from 24 under Labour to 6 under the SNP, in recent years.
So, school violence is increasing in Scotland’s schools too but against a background of reducing violence?
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