British teachers reject duties to report youth crime

Teachers in the United Kingdom have reacted angrily to government proposals to draw them into the fight against knife crime by requiring them to report anyone they fear may be at risk or involved, saying the suggestion is unworkable and unreasonable, and that the problem has nothing to do with schools.

Under new plans from the Home Office, professionals such as teachers, nurses and doctors will have a public health duty to raise concerns about young people they think may be involved in serious violence, and they would be held accountable if they failed to do so.

"Neither the blame for nor the solution to violent crime can be laid at the door of schools or frontline hospital staff," said Mary Bousted, joint general secretary of the National Education Union. "It needs real solutions put in place to prevent yet more incidents occurring - solutions that address the causes and not just the symptoms."