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See other news storiesCrackdown on knife sales to youths
11 August 2008
Those who sell illegal knives to underage buyers will be targeted.
In a letter to chief executives of local authorities and chief police officers, Home Office minister Vernon Coaker has asked for a wide-ranging, cross-governmental effort to tackle knife crime.
As part of that effort, he announced that underage 'mystery shoppers' will be sent to shops selling knives over the coming months to attempt to buy knives illegally. They will do so under the supervision of police and trading standards officers, and their work will have deadly seriousness.
Strict rules forbid selling knives to underage buyers
Selling knives to anyone under the age of 18 is illegal. The crime carries a maximum sentence of six months in prison, and a fine of up to £5,000.
The offence centres on the act of selling - a retailer commits an offence if he sells to any underage buyer. This is not limited to the high street - anyone who sells a knife to a young person via any internet website is committing an offence.
By the same token, it is also illegal to carry many types of knives. Anyone over the age of 16 caught carrying an illegal knife can expect to be prosecuted on the first offence.
Those under 16 caught with knives can expect to receive at least a caution, along with a requirement to attend a knife education scheme.
In the last year, a range of tough penalties have been rolled out to get across the message that carrying a knife is unacceptable, including doubling the maximum sentence for carrying a knife from two to four years, giving teachers the power to search pupils for weapons in schools and increasing the use of stop and search.
A 'complex issue'
Mr Coaker said, 'Knife crime is a complex issue which we all need to work together to solve. Enforcement action is one part of the solution and that is why I am today calling on our partners in the police and Trading Standards to get tough with anyone illegally selling knives to under-18s.
'I want to see more test purchasing operations like those being undertaken in Birmingham to catch any unscrupulous retailers.'
In June, the Home Secretary announced a programme of action in 10 knife-crime hotspots. The scheme, which will run until March 2009, combines tough law enforcement with education and crime prevention efforts designed to keep youngsters on the right track.
Combined, the ten regions involved in the programme (London, Essex, Lancashire, West Yorkshire, Merseyside, the West Midlands, Greater Manchester, Nottinghamshire, South Wales and Thames Valley) account for more than 70% of all knife violence in England and Wales.
