A rising number of teenagers are being caught carrying blades on Scotland’s streets, with concerns intensifying over knife crime.
Incidents involving under-18s being found with blades by police using stop-and-search powers soared by 59% last year, with children as young as 11 being apprehended.
The figures published by Police Scotland list every stop-and-search case over the course of the year to the end of March 2026.
There were 145 instances of youngsters – 127 boys and 18 girls - being caught with knives in 2025/26, compared to 19 in the calendar year of 2024, analysis by 1919 Magazine found.
These searches were often carried out on suspicion of finding other illegal items, such as drugs or stolen goods, before blades or pointed articles were discovered.
It comes as concerns intensify about knife crime among young people in the wake of three teenagers being convicted for the murder of 16-year-old Kayden Moy on Irvine Beach in 2025.
The East Kilbride teenager died in hospital after being stabbed in Ayrshire on Saturday, May 17, 2025.
David Kennedy, general secretary of the Scottish Police Federation, highlighted that every blade seized is “potentially a life saved”.
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He said: “Every one of these incidents is a knife being removed from the streets and potentially a life saved.
“Officers need to be supported in this work, and as it stands, there are too many obstacles when an officer reasonably suspects someone may be carrying a weapon.
“As we’ve seen from recent cases, knife crime is a real problem in Scotland. Frontline officers are the last line of defence on this and must be given more to continue the work.”
The practice of stop-and-search has been defended by Police Scotland, frontline officers, and the Scottish Government’s Justice Secretary, Neil Gray.
Among the cases in the past year, there were two separate 11-year-old boys, one in Glasgow and another in Irvine, close to where Kayden Moy was murdered, just a few months after the tragic incident.
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An additional two 12-year-old boys, one in Glasgow and one on the Isle of Bute, were snared while carrying blades.
The Justice Secretary stated that more than £8 million has been invested in prevention and early intervention since 2023.
He added: “There is no reason to ever carry a weapon, at any time. The Scottish Government fully supports Police Scotland to take appropriate and proportionate action to safeguard public safety.
“Stop and search is a valuable tool in combating crime and keeping people safe. We continue to work with partners to tackle and prevent youth violence and, in particular, knife crime, alongside education, diversion and mentoring programmes.
“This is supported by our investment of more than £8 million since 2023 in targeted prevention and early intervention activity in schools, hospitals and across communities to tackle violence and its harms.
“We are also investing record funding of more than £1.7 billion for policing in 2026/27, and Scotland continues to have more police officers per head of population than England and Wales.”
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