Even 10-year-old girls are found carrying knives

Police reveal 91 blade possession cases

- By Katrine Bussey

A 10-YEAR-OLD child was among 91 cases of under-18s found by Police Scotland to be in possession of a bladed weapon last year.

The new statistics, which come in the wake of the deaths of teenagers Amen Teklay and Kayden Moy, prompted concerns of a “youth violence epidemic”.

The two teenagers both died after allegedly being stabbed in separate incidents this year.

Now analysis of Police Scotland stop and search data by the justice and home affairs magazine 1919 showed that in 2024 teens accounted for almost a third of positive knife searches across all age groups.

The 91 cases of someone under the age of 18 being caught with a bladed or pointed weapon equate to about one such case every four days.

The data revealed a 10-year-old was caught with a knife in the east of Edinburgh in July 2024. Meanwhile, 12-year-olds were caught with bladed weapons in the capital, Glasgow, Ayrshire and Lanarkshire, the magazine reported.

In addition, more than a dozen children aged 13, including two girls, were also found to have such items when searched.