Chaperones are to take children to and from school to protect them from violence in knife-crime hotspots under a new Government scheme that will be manned by volunteers. The Telegraph has more.

Up to 250 schools in the areas worst affected by knife crime will be identified by the Home Office using new mapping technology, which can pinpoint the most dangerous streets and when pupils are most at risk.

Adult volunteers from charities and teachers will be recruited to act as chaperones, replicating a scheme in Chicago, which cut crime on targeted routes by 14% and helped students cross gang boundaries.

The approach was first trialled in the West Midlands, with 90 chaperones across 20 routes in 2021-2022. An evaluation of the Home Office-backed scheme by the Youth Endowment Fund found pupils felt safer and that it “supported their education, mental health and well-being”.

The Home Office will invest £1.2 million to support schools in areas of high knife crime and improve pupils’ safety on their way to and from school.

It is part of a series of initiatives being announced this week by Labour as part of its efforts to deliver on its manifesto commitment to halve knife crime within a decade.

Sarah Jones, the policing minister, said: “No child should fear walking to school. That is why we must prevent violence from ever occurring.

“With the right support, the right opportunities and the right interventions in the right places, we can prevent harm long before a young person finds themselves in danger. This Government will halve knife crime within a decade, saving lives and protecting communities.”

Knife crime has returned to pre-Covid levels with more than 50,000 offences reported to police, just short of the record high. But homicides have fallen by 8% for all age groups, decreasing more sharply among teenagers.

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