The Met Police has released a shocking statement saying it is easier for children buy a knife than it is to buy paracetamol.
Commander Stephen Clayman at the Met Police heads up the knife crime strategy and said there is “huge flaws” in the age verification process which allows children to buy knives.
Clayman who heads up the Central Specialist Crime unit and is the National Policing lead for knife crime said, “The age verification is a huge vulnerability, both in terms of at point of sale and at delivery.
“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.
Kinfe dealers often buy in bulk, and they then sell on social media, “they don’t really care who they sell to,” he added.
The government is starting a crackdown on the sale of knives for those under the age of 18, in an attempt to stop knife crime.
Plans could see those who sell knives to children could receive a mere two years in prison and the Home Office plans a crackdown to monitor knife sales and could make it a legal requirement for retailers to report suspicious activity to the police.
