Knife Crime Crackdown New Measures to Combat Violence Announced

The government announced stricter rules about knife crime. They plan to begin them this spring. Shops must report large knife sales, and they also must report suspicious knife sales. Selling weapons to kids will get a longer sentence. The penalty will increase to two years, and this includes illegal knives, like zombie knives.

Knife buyers will need to show photo ID. This is needed at purchase and delivery. The system aims to be very strict. This follows a review by Commander Stephen Clayman. He found major problems with online knife sales, stating that age checks online are weak.

The rules are called “Ronan’s Law,” and they are named for Ronan Kanda. He was killed in 2022 by mistake. The law will hopefully protect young folks. The government wants to cut knife crime in half within ten years.

Shops must tell police about big knife purchases, and they must also report suspect ones. This aims to stop illegal resales online. This applies to home deliveries only, avoiding impacting normal business sales.

The sentence for selling weapons to minors will rise, going from six months to two years. This applies to both salespeople and CEOs. The higher penalty covers banned weapons too, with zombie-style knives as examples of this.

Commander Clayman found sellers face less penalty than buyers. Selling weapons illegally is more lenient now. Possessing a weapon for violence will now be a crime, regardless of the weapon being legal. This could mean four years in prison.

The government may require online knife seller registration. They will consult about it this spring to ensure only safe sellers can sell knives. The Home Office will provide £1 million for a project. This project, called Operation Athos, will tackle illegal knife sales nationally.