Retailers must tighten procedures for selling knives, or else...

The growing concern over knife crime, new age-restrictions and new prosecution guidelines mean retailers must be more aware of their responsibilities - and be prepared for more undercover test-purchases.

The BBC reported that in the five years leading up to 2006 out of the mere 71 people convicted of selling knives to under-16s in England and Wales, no-one was jailed and few received fines over £500 despite the maximum fine being £5,000.

Not surprisingly in the current climate following a spate of horrific attacks, the ways in which young people are obtaining knives is coming under increasing scrutiny as a considerable number of these stabbings involve teenagers. This has resulted in new guidance for police and prosecutors which mean that anyone over the age of 16 caught carrying a knife will now be prosecuted.

In 2007 the Violent Crime Reduction Act increased the age restriction on selling knifes to make it a criminal offence to sell knives to persons under the age of 18. Retailers can expect an increased focus by Trading Standards departments on the sale of all items containing a blade to anyone under age.

All retailers should beware, that the use of “undercover “ test-purchasers aged under 16 to obtain age-restricted goods is a potent weapon being increasingly employed by Trading Standards officers across the country.

The Test Purchase Code of Best Practice provides the authorities with Home Office guidance on how to use this enforcement technique. The use of concealed tape recorders are permitted and in use.

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