The plan aims to nip delinquency in the bud

The Violence Reduction Strategy (VRS) will be launched in the Strathclyde Police area before the end of the year.

Officers based at schools will crack down on bullies and work with parents, social workers and children's reporters to nip delinquency in the bud.

If successful, the plan could be rolled out nationwide.

Organisers say the scheme, which also involves officers holding citizenship classes for pupils, will run from primary five to the third year of secondary school.

'Changing lives'

Strathclyde Police Detective Superintendent John Carnochan, a key figure in the VRS project, said short-term fixes had shown to have little impact on crime.

Initiatives such as Operation Blade - which saw mass police searches for concealed knives - created only brief drops in violent crime.

He told the Sunday Herald: "To make sustainable changes we need to educate.

We would take issue with anything too heavy-handed such as police patrolling school corridors Ronnie Smith EIS

"There are no primary five kids that I know of who want to be murderers or heroin addicts.

"We need to change the lives of people at a young age - and to have lasting changes it will take maybe 15 years."

The programme will be modelled on the full-time office base set up in 2002 by Strathclyde Police at Eastbank Academy in Glasgow's east end.

The project at the Shettleston school has been hailed as a success and has helped reduce the number of children carrying offensive weapons.

The Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS), the country's biggest teaching union, gave the proposals a cautious welcome.

'Long-term reduction'

General secretary Ronnie Smith said: "We think there could be a positive role for police in schools as long as they are not a substitute for the disciplinary role of teachers.

"We would take issue with anything too heavy-handed such as police patrolling school corridors as we want an environment where kids feel safe and relaxed and able to learn."

A spokeswoman for the Scottish Executive confirmed that the scheme could be introduced across the country.

She said: "We welcome Strathclyde Police's joined-up approach to tackling the culture of violence that is destroying too many lives and families.

"By working with a whole range of groups from parents, teachers and schools to the wider community, we hope that this strategy will not just lead to short term falls in violent crime, but a much more sustained, long-term reduction."