Home Office in new knives clampdown

A still from a Home Office anti-knife advert

Monday, 11, Aug 2008 04:30

The Home office is focussing its anti-knife strategy on halting the sale of knives to under-18s, ministers announced today.

In a letter to the Local Authority of Chief Executives and Association of Chief Police Officers, Home Office minister Vernon Coaker emphasised concerns over young people's access to knives and asked for increased activity to tackle the problem.

Knife retailers are set to be examined by the police, with underage children involved in mystery shopper visits.

Mr Coaker said today: "We are committed to tackling knife crime and getting knives off our streets.

"We have introduced tough laws including increasing the minimum age at which someone can be sold a knife from 16 to 18 and penalties for shopkeepers who do beak the law.

"Knife crime is a complex issue which we all need to work together to solve," he added.

Alf Hitchcock, Deputy Assistant Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, added: "For some time, police forces have been working closely with Trading Standards to address the illegal sale of knives to young people.

"Police forces are determined to make inroads into stamping out knife crime and getting weapons off our streets - but this cannot be down to police alone - retailers must take responsibility for their actions too."

Shadow home secretary Dominic Grieve said: "A one-off crackdown is all very well, but Labour are still failing to enforce the knife laws we already have.

"They talk tough about increasing penalties but in the last five years for which figures are available, not a single person has been sent to prison for selling knives to children."