Chris Abercrombie: PPTA President on the rising number of kids bringing weapons to school

Teachers and principals are relying on other students to know if someone is bringing a weapon to school.  

Figures released under the Official Information Act show 526 students were stood down, suspended, or excluded for using or having a weapon at school last year. 

That's 80% higher than in 2018. 

PPTA President Chris Abercrombie told Ryan Bridge the experience of most schools tends to be the same.  

He says bag searches are very rare, and more often than not, students tell staff about the weapon. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
So kids and weapons coming to classrooms. This is new
information from their official information at request. Harold's got its
hands on it. Five hundred and twenty six students have
been stood down, suspended or excluded for having a weapon
at school, an eighty percent increase on numbers recorded in
twenty eighteen. A third from Auckland, sixty from Hamilton. Chris Abercrombie,

(00:21):
the PPTA president, with me this morning.

Speaker 2 (00:23):
Chris, Good morning, good morning.

Speaker 1 (00:26):
No definition of what a weapon is? What are we
talking about?

Speaker 2 (00:30):
I mean, it could be anything from a knife or
cases like BB guns, those kinds of things there. But
you say, there's no definition for the ministry about what
a weapon is, so it's left that big school to decide.

Speaker 1 (00:43):
Are we talking, sirius like BB guns, knives? What guns?

Speaker 2 (00:49):
So minustanding there's been no guns, but there's definitely been knives,
BB guns, those kind of things there. It could be
bringing a chain to school, you know, like a proper chain,
you know, so there's lots of things that could be
there's no definition of what a weapon.

Speaker 1 (01:04):
Is, or knuckle dusters kids used to bring to school.

Speaker 2 (01:07):
It could absolutely be those kinds of things.

Speaker 1 (01:09):
Yeah, so are we how are we finding them, Are
kids braindishing them or are people searching bags? Teach of
what's going on.

Speaker 2 (01:16):
Most times, from our experience, what we've been told and
personal experiences other students tell us that so and so
has got a knife. You know, so and so bought
something that there tends to be the experience of most
people finding or a teacher sees it. But it's very
very rare that it's a bag surch or anything like that.

Speaker 1 (01:33):
Okay, we got five hre and twenty six students last year.
That's an eighty percent increase on five years prior. I
mean we will have had population increases. Well, kids aren't
exactly getting stabbed at school or shot at school? Is
this Do the numbers sound more alarming than they, you know,
than the reality.

Speaker 2 (01:49):
I mean, it is a concern. It is a real
concern because you never know what's going to happen. So
people aren't getting sad. You know, it's very rare. Wolf
shot and it is incredibly rare. But it is a
concern of these things are happening, you know, and it's
definitely an increasing trend. We hear this from teachers and
principles all the time.

Speaker 1 (02:06):
Chris Great Tavy on the show is always Chris Abercrombie,
the PPTA President, on kids bringing weapons to school. When
I was at school there, it was knuckle dusters, was
a kind of trendy thing, and never saw a kid
with a gun. You'll be pleased to know. But then
I don't think any student in New Zealand would have
seen a kid bring a gun to school. Would they
maybe a pocket knife? But I don't know. To me,

(02:30):
I mean, it sounds alarming, doesn't it. It sounds alarming, But
I just don't know that it necessarily means that kids
are in any greater danger than they were yesterday.

Speaker 2 (02:39):
For more from Early Edition with Ryan Bridge, listen live
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