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Comment: Curb on knives
Evening Standard18 Aug 2008
The murder of a young man in Croydon this weekend brings to 17 the number of teenagers killed in stabbings in London this year. So our survey today showing the ease with which an under-age teenager was able to buy knives in London shops makes sobering reading.The surge in knife crime in the capital is fuelled in part by the ease with which young people can get hold of knives.
The 17 year-old used by the Standard was refused knives in many shops visited in Croydon and Enfield, two areas particularly blighted by knife crime, and this is heartening. But a significant minority of stores were prepared to sell him blades without any proof of age. This has been against the law since last year, when sales of knives to under-18s was banned. Offenders included major chains BHS and Milletts. This apparently undiscriminating approach is worrying. Cash tills at some stores automatically flash up a reminder to the cashier to check the buyer's age. Such simple precautions, and staff training, should make it very hard for an under-age teenager to buy a blade. Perhaps if the authorities pursued offending stores more vigorously, these shops might take the issue more seriously. Neither the shops concerned nor trading standards officers can afford to ignore the problem.
