Police data reveals almost 4,000 crimes at Leeds schools in five years - but serious incidents still 'incredibly rare'

And the fact that more than a quarter of them relate to violent offences of some form will do little to ease their minds.

But the officer heading up the city's Safer Schools programme insists there is no reason to be frightened by what the police data reveals.

Chief Inspector Richard Padwell, of West Yorkshire Police, said: "In terms of serious incidents in schools, they’re incredibly rare. It’s very rare that a crime will be committed in a school on any day and even rarer that it’s a serious one.

"That’s not to say we’re complacent and that there aren’t incidents, or we’re not working to continue the reduction we’ve had in the last year. We just don’t want people to be frightened or concerned that there’s bedlam."

As the Yorkshire Evening Post's Your Right to Know campaign continues, we take a closer look at what the numbers mean and how police are working to keep children safe at school.

Leeds had the highest number of reported crimes with a school location in 2019, up 69 per cent on the 518 offences logged back in 2015.

The 876 incidents in the district last year were down 7.2 per cent on the previous year though, suggesting the intense focus in this area may be paying off.

Despite the belief that some hold about numbers offering a black and white picture of any issue, Chief Insp Padwell urged caution against taking them on face value.

A major push around crime data integrity - the accurate recording of reported crimes - led to West Yorkshire becoming the only force in the country to achieve an outstanding rating in this area.

"Going back years and years, it may have been that incidents were not recorded as a crime," Chief Insp Padwell said. "We’re absolutely stringent in our recording of crimes. You have to take that into account because it’s a massive factor."

How a crime location is initially reported is another point to consider as members of the public often use a recognisable landmark when ringing the police.

It explains how a national fast food restaurant in Leeds city centre was still cropping up as a frequent crime location despite being completely shut in the early stages of lockdown, Chief Insp Padwell said.

What it means in practice is that some of the 3,851 offences in the last five years may have happened just outside the school grounds, while others may have been outside school hours or involved people who have no connection to the school itself.

Many though will have been committed by pupils, or even staff, and those are the crimes that are the real focus for the Safer Schools team.

Wherever possible, it is about heading off potential problems before they escalate and intervening early to keep young people on the right path.

Chief Insp Padwell said: "An incident happened in a particular school, where they didn't have a Safer Schools police officer. There was some discussion about ex-pupils potentially coming along to fight current pupils.

"Our PC went to meet the headteacher, put plans in place, linked in with partners and got individual youth prevention for those young people. We also linked in with our neighbourhood policing team to make sure we had a police officer in the vicinity to deal with any issues."

Not every one of the 260 or so schools in Leeds has chosen to contribute the match-funding required to have a Safer Schools officer but most secondary schools now have one assigned on a full-time or shared basis, while each primary school has PCSO allocated.

Their role is to work alongside school staff and to link in with other organisations and the city's three Early Help Hubs, which support individuals with family issues.

"We’re working to intervene earlier, looking at factors that might be influencing offending behaviour with young people," Chief Insp Padwell said. "It’s about understanding some of the cause and influences, not just dealing with the symptom.

"There will be criminal sentences where it’s appropriate, but that’s just one part."

When it comes to the types of offences they might deal with, the data shows it covers everything from bike thefts and criminal damage through to sexual offences and possession of weapons.

The most common crimes during the five-year period were violence against the person at 658 offences, violence without injury at 484 and theft at 489.

And the seriousness of those violent offences ranges from pushing and shoving in the playground through to more serious physical assaults.

It is the seriousness which will dictate how the offence is handled since there is a balance to be struck when it comes to putting a young person into the criminal justice system.

Chief Insp Padwell said: "Just because it’s recorded as a crime, it doesn’t mean it has to be dealt with by arresting a minor and criminalising that child.

"On many occasions, it’s dealt with through restorative justice. It’s about working with the issue to prevent any significant harm occurring. It’s about dealing with that in an appropriate way."

The Your Right to Know campaign uses Freedom of Information legislation and official data to take a closer look at how your taxes are spent and how the city's public organisations are performing. Email [email protected] to tell us about any issues you would like us to investigate.

Also in crime: These were the most common crimes in West Yorkshire during the first month of lockdown

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