THE number of people found carrying a knife or pointed weapon by police has almost trebled in five years.

According to figures obtained through a Freedom of Information request, 767 people throughout West Yorkshire were found carrying a potentially deadly weapon compared to 266 in 2014.

Knives and other weapons with a point found on children has also increased over the same amount of time, with 32 under-18s dealt with by the police in 2014. By 2017, the number had more than doubled to 88, but dropped slightly to 74 incidents last year.

In total, police recorded 395 incidents of a child carrying a bladed article, with 80 children caught with one in school.

The Freedom of Information request made reference to several schools and colleges in the Bradford district which was involved in an incident with a knife or similar weapon.

These include Appleton Academy, BBG Academy, Belle Vue Girls School, Bradford Academy, Buttershaw Business and Enterprise College, Bingley Grammar School, Carlton Bolling College, Grange Technology College, Dixons Allerton Academy, Dixons Trinity Academy, Dixons Cottingley Academy, Bradford College, Laisterdyke Business and Enterprise College, University Academy Keighley, Oasis Academy Lister Park and Queensbury School.

The police pointed out that the incidents may not have happened on school premises, but were made reference to in their call logs when a crime was reported.

Knife crime has been labelled an ‘epidemic’ by the children’s charity Barnado’s and less than two weeks ago a 15-year-old boy was stabbed in the shoulder at Beckfoot Thornton School.

A 16-year-old was arrested and some lessons were evacuated as police swarmed on the school grounds to quickly arrest the teenager.

READ MORE: Beckfoot Thornton School headteacher speaks about stabbing

A Barnardo’s spokesperson said: “Knife crime is an epidemic threatening our children’s lives and the safety of our communities.

“As a society we need to address the poverty of hope felt by many children and young people across the country, where they see little or no chance of a positive future.

“Nationally Barnardo’s has long said we need police, community leaders, children and young people, representatives from education, national and local governments and charities to work together to find a solution.”

Mark Burns-Williamson, West Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC), is arranging to meet with the interim National Schools Commissioner in the near future to discuss how partnership working with the education sector can be improved.

He said: “Ultimately it will be only through early intervention and prevention work with young people and schools that we will be able to effectively deal with the scourge of knife crime in our communities, and this is something I am continuing to highlight to Government in ensuring a cross departmental approach, which will make a difference on the ground.

“In particular, I recently attended a Serious Youth Violence Summit at 10 Downing Street, where I was able to discuss from a West Yorkshire perspective, what more needs to be done to address issues around knife and youth violence.

One of the most serious Bradford case covered by the statistics is the stabbing of supply teacher Vincent Uzomah at Dixons Kings Academy on June 11, 2015.

A 14-year-old boy was was given six years’ detention after he stabbed the 50-year-old in the stomach.

Detective Superintendent Chris Gibson, West Yorkshire Police’s knife crime lead, said carrying a knife is "never the answer." He added: "The number of people aged under 18 reported to be in possession of articles with a blade or point, or a knife has increased, however in every report made to police, the individual was either charged, summonsed to court, cautioned or was dealt with by way of community resolution.

"The Force has dedicated Safer Schools Officers who work in partnership with secondary schools across the county. As part of their role, Safer Schools Officers speak to young people about the dangers of carrying a knife and the potential consequences.

“This is part of the partnership approach we take to the issue, recognising that one organisation alone cannot tackle the issue in isolation – it requires partners together to do everything possible to reduce knife related crime.

“The Force has also recently supported a national campaign around knife crime, which included enforcement activities such as weapon sweeps, test purchase operations and educational visits.”