The UK is looking at introducing a licence for knives to cut down on violent crime
A new licensing scheme is being proposed by the government to block illegal knife sales and imports – helping save lives and keep dangerous weapons out of young hands.
The measures would introduce mandatory licences for businesses and private sellers, as well as for importers of knives and bladed items.
Subject to consultation, sellers could face police suitability checks, mandatory age verification and secure packaging requirements. Import licences would prevent sellers from moving operations overseas to avoid regulation.
This builds on new laws introduced by the government to tackle knife crime, including Ronan’s Law which strengthens rules for selling knives online, as part of the government’s commitment to halve knife crime in a decade.
Widespread police operations, border seizures and a knife surrender scheme have already seen 60,000 knives taken off our streets. There has also been an 18% fall in knife homicides, with knife crime overall down 5% compared to the previous year and stabbings down 10%.
The scheme would prevent young people from bypassing existing safeguards by using adult identification or through unregulated resales on social media. This so-called ‘grey market’ enables knives to be bought without any checks, putting lives at risk.
“Throughout our end-to-end review of online knife sales, the need for better retailer regulation came up time and time again. Whether online or traditional high street shops, we must do all we can to prevent knives ending up in the hands of children and others who carry through fear or for use with offending,” said Commander Stephen Clayman, NPCC lead for knife crime.
“The most recent activity carried out by police through Sceptre in November highlighted 1 in 4 shops failing a test purchase. Therefore, achieving a consistent standard of responsible retailing of knives across the board is key and this consultation is therefore extremely important.”
