Seven in ten children saw peer violence in the past year, ONS figures show

New data from the Office for National Statistics reveals that 69 per cent of children aged 10 to 15 witnessed or heard about physical violence between peers in the last 12 months, while just 1 per cent reported carrying a weapon themselves.

Seven in ten children aged 10 to 15 saw or heard about a fight or other physical violence between their peers in the past year, according to the Office for National Statistics. The figures come from the Crime Survey for England and Wales, which surveys children directly about their experiences and perceptions of crime and safety — and they show a striking gap between exposure to violence and actual weapon carrying.

The same data shows that 25 per cent of children in that age group thought it was very or quite likely that people carry weapons in their local area. Yet only 1 per cent said they had carried a weapon themselves — and a more detailed ONS bulletin, covering the year ending March 2024, puts knife carrying specifically at 0.5 per cent of 10- to 15-year-olds. That figure has held broadly steady since at least 2011, with no statistically significant change recorded across survey years from 2011 to 2016.

The gap between perception and behaviour matters. A quarter of children believe weapons are likely in their neighbourhood, but fewer than one in a hundred say they’ve carried one. And that fear has real consequences — 9 per cent of 10- to 15-year-olds avoided travelling alone in the past year because of concerns about weapons, while 5.8 per cent said the same about gangs.

Separate ONS analysis found that 26.2 per cent of children in this age group had seen online content showing violence between young people or drug dealing in the last 12 months, and 14.6 per cent felt it was likely or very likely they would encounter someone involved in gangs in their daily life, with boys more likely than girls to report this.

Hospital data collected by the Youth Endowment Fund adds further context. There were 409 hospital admissions for knife assault among under-18s in England in the year ending March 2025 — around 20 per cent lower than the previous year and the lowest recorded since 2015/16. Ministry of Justice figures show that just over 3,200 knife or offensive weapon offences committed by children aged 10 to 17 resulted in a caution or sentence in the year ending March 2024, with around 99.7 per cent of those being possession rather than threatening offences.

The ONS data covers England and Wales as a whole. Kent-specific figures on youth weapon carrying and knife crime would need to be obtained from Kent Police, the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Kent, or NHS Kent and Medway Integrated Care Board. The ONS notes that perceptions of safety can diverge from recorded crime levels, meaning children’s worries about weapons don’t always reflect what local police data shows.

Key information

• Parents and carers in Kent concerned about a child’s safety or exposure to violence can contact their child’s school safeguarding lead as a first point of contact
• The NHS Kent and Medway Integrated Care Board commissions local mental health services for young people affected by violence or fear of crime
• Kent County Council and Medway Council run youth justice and early intervention services; contact details are available through each council’s website
• Childline (0800 1111) offers free, confidential support to children and young people at any time