Islington Council has teamed up with the local police to conduct a series of test purchasing exercises on premises selling knives in a bid to clamp down on illegal sales to youngsters.
George Allan, executive member for customer focus said: We are determined to get the message across to traders that they must not sell knives to young people. The trader should ask for suitable ID if he has any doubt about a person's age. The council will provide advice and assistance but where the trader keeps selling them, we will prosecute."
Initial visits involved the use of 14 and 15-year-old children. They successfully purchased knives at a total of five out of 12 premises visited. Both the police and trading standards gave these premises warnings. They were also informed that they would be re-visited at a later date and further test purchases would be attempted.
During revisits two out of five originally warned resold to a 13-year-old. These two premises will be formally reported regarding the offence of selling to a minor and could face prosecution in the coming months. Section 141A of The Criminal Justice Act 1988 creates an offence of selling knives to children under the age of 16.
ends
Page Last Updated: 29 July 2008