UCU: Possession of weapons on FE campuses

Motion

Motion text: Conference notes:

1. knife crime is any crime that involves a sharp instrument: a kitchen knife, piece of glass, potato peeler, knitting needle etc

2. there has been a sharp rise of incidents involving students carrying knives in our institutions and some aggressive behaviour

3. whilst colleges and prison classrooms need to keep students and staff safe, they do not have the ability or the resources to counter the complex societal problems behind the rise

4. these are major health and safety and safeguarding issues and some of our members are working in unsafe workplaces

5. these crimes should not be used to target any particular demographic as the problem is universal.

Sector conference instructs UCU to:

a. provide guidance for branches dealing with this problem through negotiation with employers and provide literature and posters

b. encourage the invitation of guest speakers from organisations such as No More Knives
c. Commission research into how widespread this problem is.