Stricter age verification checks and a ban on doorstep drops will
be introduced to greater protect young people from knife crime.
These new measures will also prevent weapons getting into the
wrong hands.
A stringent 2-step system will be mandated for all retailers
selling knives online requiring customers to submit photo ID at
point of sale and again on delivery. In addition, delivery
companies will only be able to deliver a bladed article to the
same person who purchased it.
The government has an ambitious mission to halve knife crime
within a decade as part of the Plan for Change and a core element
of this will be addressing problems in the online sales
space.
Under the new measures a person may need to submit a copy of a
photo ID such as driving licence or passport, as well as proof of
address such as a utility bill, before showing ID again when the
package is delivered. This could also include a person submitting
a current photo or video of themselves to an online retailer
alongside their ID.
It will also be illegal to leave a package containing a bladed
weapon on a doorstep when no one is in to receive it.
Home Secretary said:
It's a total disgrace how easy it still is for children to get
dangerous weapons online.
More than two years after Ronan Kanda was killed with a ninja
sword bought by a teenager online, too many retailers still don't
have proper checks in place.
It's too easy to put in false birth dates, parcels are too often
being dropped off at a doorstop with no questions asked.
We cannot go on like this. We need much stronger checks – before
you buy, before it's delivered.
The measures I am setting out today will be crucial in addressing
this problem and are part of our Plan for Change and mission to
make streets safer.
Last year the Home Secretary commissioned Commander Stephen
Clayman, the national police lead on knife crime, to carry out a
full review into the online sale and delivery of knives.
The full report is expected at the end of the month and stronger
ID checks are one of the recommendations.
We have also already announced that we will hold social media
executives to account for knife crime related content which
glorifies and incites violence amongst young people. Senior execs
of social media companies will face significant fines in the
region of £10,000 for failing to swiftly remove knife crime
related content from their platforms.
The measures announced today are set to be included as part of
the Crime and Policing Bill which is expected to be introduced to
Parliament by spring, with more proposals still to come in the
coming weeks.
