Kids and Cops: The Shocking Rise in Violence

Lately, police officers are having to use force more often when dealing with violent kids. Numbers have skyrocketed, with over 85, 000 incidents in just one year. This is a big increase from the year before, and it's more than double what it was back in 2017. Cops even had to draw their guns 546 times to keep situations under control. It's not just big kids either—almost 900 of these incidents involved children under 11. Knife crime is also on the rise again, with over 50, 000 cases reported in the past year. London is one of the worst-hit areas, reaching a record high of 15, 859 knife crimes in the last year. Experts like Jon Yates from the Youth Endowment Fund are worried. He thinks the government needs to do more than just police action. They should also be helping troubled kids before they turn to violence.Overall, police have had to use force more than 747, 000 times in the past year. That's a lot, and it includes incidents where kids as young as 11 were involved. Most of the time, the police used unarmed tactics, but there were cases where guns or handcuffs were needed. It's a serious issue because too many young lives are being affected by violence. A study found that 20% of kids have been victims of violence in the past year, and some even carry weapons. This isn't okay, and it's clear that more needs to be done to help these kids before it's too late.