Close retail loopholes fuelling knife epidemic

AMOVE to stop knives bought online being delivered to people’s homes is a desperate sign of the times. While action is needed to tackle the scourge of violent crime, the measure will undoubtedly impact negatively on law-abiding householders and online retailers.

But the convenience offered by online sales has been exploited by those wanting to instil fear and cause harm.

There are obvious problems for an online retailer to be certain that they have not sold a knife to someone under 18, as opposed to a shop where the assistant can see the customer and ask for proof of age.

As the Government points out, the stabbing of 16-year-old Bailey Gwynne highlights “the fatal consequences of not having strong checks in place to prevent under-18s from buying knives online”.

According to his teen killer, he bought the knife online from Amazon “because they don’t check if you’re 18 or not”. It is worth noting that eBay and a number of major retailers such as Asda, John Lewis and Wilko do not sell knives online.

Other major chains such as Tesco and Argos require knives bought online to be collected in-store, so the person’s age can be checked. However, any change to the law must be backed up by a strong approach to violent crime, whether it involves knives, guns or acid.

The package of measures unveiled by the Government must be enforced across the board to have any impact. Lip-service and sound-bites won’t do. Failing to tackle this problem comes at too high a human cost.