According to Cdr. Stephen Clayman, who oversees the police’s strategy against knife crime, age verification procedures have “huge flaws” that occasionally result in an increase in knife crime on our streets. According to Cdr. Stephen Clayman, who oversees the police’s strategy against knife crime, says age verification procedures have “huge flaws” that occasionally result in an increase in knife crime on our streets.r Clayman, the head of Central Specialist Crime at Metropolitan Police and National Policing lead for knife crime, suggested that verification processes for buying over-the-counter pain medication like paracetamol is sometimes stricter than when you purchase knives.
“The age verification is a huge vulnerability, both in terms of at the point of sale and at delivery,” he said.
“We know that through the tragic stories we hear and have heard, but it continues that there are huge flaws that need to be addressed.”
“Bizarrely, it is harder to buy paracetamol in some respects than it is to buy a knife. And that can’t be right,” he added.
Mr Clayman, who recently led a commission on online knife sales, revealed that a number of bladed weapons are falling into the hands of young people because of lax age verification processes.
Knife dealers often purchase blades in bulk without raising any flags, which are then sold illegally on social media regardless of the purchaser’s age.
“They don’t really care who they sell to,” he added.
The news comes as the UK government begins a stricter crackdown on the sale of bladed weapons for under-18s amid wider efforts to curb the nation’s knife crime crisis.
This week, the Home Office has revealed its plans to enhance monitoring of knife sales, including making it a requirement for retailers to report suspicious bulk sales to the police.
Other provisions include increasing jail sentences for people selling weapons to children to up to two years.
The latest crackdown forms part of Ronan’s Law, named in memory of 16-year-old Ronan Kanda who was murdered in 2022 by two teenagers who bought deadly blades online.
Ronan’s mum Pooja Kanda, who campaigned for changes to laws regarding online knife purchases, recently said: “It’s very hard to continue to live in a positive way when you continuously see knife violence growing among these children.”
“Things are definitely getting worse. It’s getting younger and younger, children are now 12 years old, who are being killed.”
Earlier this year, data revealed that an increasing proportion of hospital admissions admitted for stabbings were under 18 years old.
Alongside a clampdown on online knife sales, a new police unit is expected to be launched to prevent further blades bought online from turning up on UK streets.
“The age verification is a huge vulnerability, both in terms of at the point of sale and at delivery,” he said.
“We know that through the tragic stories we hear and have heard, but it continues that there are huge flaws that need to be addressed.”
“Bizarrely, it is harder to buy paracetamol in some respects than it is to buy a knife. And that can’t be right,” he added.
Mr Clayman, who recently led a commission on online knife sales, revealed that a number of bladed weapons are falling into the hands of young people because of lax age verification processes.
Knife dealers often purchase blades in bulk without raising any flags, which are then sold illegally on social media regardless of the purchaser’s age.
“They don’t really care who they sell to,” he added.
The news comes as the UK government begins a stricter crackdown on the sale of bladed weapons for under-18s amid wider efforts to curb the nation’s knife crime crisis.
This week, the Home Office has revealed its plans to enhance monitoring of knife sales, including making it a requirement for retailers to report suspicious bulk sales to the police.
Other provisions include increasing jail sentences for people selling weapons to children to up to two years.
The latest crackdown forms part of Ronan’s Law, named in memory of 16-year-old Ronan Kanda who was murdered in 2022 by two teenagers who bought deadly blades online.
Ronan’s mum Pooja Kanda, who campaigned for changes to laws regarding online knife purchases, recently said: “It’s very hard to continue to live in a positive way when you continuously see knife violence growing among these children.”
“Things are definitely getting worse. It’s getting younger and younger, children are now 12 years old, who are being killed.”
Earlier this year, data revealed that an increasing proportion of hospital admissions admitted for stabbings were under 18 years old.
Alongside a clampdown on online knife sales, a new police unit is expected to be launched to prevent further blades bought online from turning up on UK streets.