The Bermuda Police Service have urged parents to be aware of items their children may have in their possession when they leave the home.

The advisory comes as the police recorded 14 knife incidents this year.

In a Facebook post this week, police called on parents to know their children’s location at all times and to question them if they see them carrying an item that can be deemed a weapon.

Assistant Commissioner of Police Antoine Daniels said the notice was a reinforcement for the community to be aware of the seriousness of individuals arming themselves with knives.

He told The Royal Gazette that in the schools there have been incidents where individuals, not necessarily students, have had bladed articles while engaging in fights.

He said there were also incidents outside school where students “have been in possession of bladed weapons, so we just want everybody to be safe”.

Mr Daniels said frontline and community police officers would often visit neighbourhoods to chat with residents on the issue.

He said 2024 was the island’s “worst year” for knife crime in which the police recorded five deaths from 36 incidents.

He added: “So it was obvious that knife crime is trending up … thus the rationale for putting these messages out.”

Mr Daniels said that in 2022 there was a surge in knife crime and the police worked closely with the senior schools to raise awareness of the issue.

He said: “We did things like provide awareness to the teachers and students, we worked with the school’s security to beef it up a little bit and spoke with some of the sport organisations.”

He said that in 2022 he was forced to disarm a young man who had a knife and was chasing another at a youth football game.

He added: “When I spoke to the mother, the mother said to me, ‘Hey, many of these children are carrying knives and they carry it for their protection’.”

Mr Daniels said if someone arms themselves with a knife, he or she may want to use the weapon to cause harm.

He added: “If they don’t, that means the other person could potentially get the upper hand.”

He appealed to parents to speak with their sons and daughters “around the dangers of possessing knives”.

Parents should also educate their children about reporting incidents to the school’s administration, he said.

Mr Daniels said there are many survival stories “people won’t hear about” in which individuals were injured by knives.

“I had some examples here where one person was stabbed so badly that they had a broken leg but you won’t hear about this because the person survived.”

Mr Daniels said carrying a knife increases the risk of someone being injured, and he appealed to the community to be aware of such risks.

Anyone with information concerning any of the incidents is asked to call the Bermuda Police Service on 295-0011.

Alternatively, anonymous tips can be provided by calling Crime Stoppers on 800-8477, or through the BPS community reporting portal.

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