MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Stricter age-verification checks for all knife retailers

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 Yvette Cooper 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.