Photo: ODTHigh schools are witnessing pupils fighting with a type of violence that lasts longer and is more aggressive, the head of a group representing principals says. Fights were often among groups and they were "not stopping when the person goes down", he said. Anecdotally, those engaging in fights were "harder to bring back from the edge - it's harder to de-escalate". Historically, teenagers had fought with their fists and while this was not to be condoned, the use of a weapon was "really, really troubling", he said. Overall, offending by adolescents had decreased in the past decade - but a certain group of teenagers were offending more, Dr Sutherland said.

Source: Otago Daily Times May 25, 2024 21:08 UTC