’I’ll stop selling knives’ – those are the words of one Birmingham trader after he heard from our officers about the dangers of knife crime amongst our young people. Read the full release from West Midlands Police below:
We were in the Soho Road area last Friday (14 August) working with shopkeepers, council staff and community groups in our ongoing commitment to tackling knife crime and youth violence.
In a new move for West Midlands Police, officers along with Birmingham City Council Trading Standards, carried out test purchases of knives to find out what traders knew about selling bladed items.
It is illegal to sell knives to anyone under the age of 18, so retailers need to be checking the ID of any young person asking to buy a knife.
In shops where this was not happening, our officers explained to retailers they must ask for proof that the knife is being bought by someone over 18.
Traders also signed up to our new Responsible Retailer scheme, a joint campaign with the council, which encourages retailers to sell knives safely and deter youngsters from buying them.
PC Daniel Thomas, of WMP Project Guardian said: “Our aim was to educate and remind retailers of their responsibilities, making it harder for our young people to gain access to knives that can cause so much harm.
“One has even decided to stop selling knives, after he told us ’I don’t need to sell knives to support my business and if it prevents young people from getting them, I’m happy to do that’.”
Among the 60-strong squad taking part were neighbourhood teams, Street Watch, Soho Road BID, council street cleaners and community volunteers.
Search specialists from our Operational Support Unit led sweeps of five nearby parks and along the Soho Road looking for knives and other weapons.
The teams recovered a number of hidden items, including knives tucked away in bins, and metal bars concealed against trees, along with a host of discarded needles.
With the OSU having trained and developed the skills of Neighbourhood Teams and community group members on the safe search and recovery of items, many now feel empowered to take on these valuable tasks in the future.
Our Safe Haven team were also out chatting with youngsters about the issues around crime and knife violence in particular.
PC Thomas, added: “The day has been a huge success with education and guidance to retailers and the removal of weapons from our public spaces making them safer for all.
“Local people were keen to understand what we were doing and after we explained, they were really pleased and said they would feel safer taking their children into the parks.”
