A NEW campaign is aiming to help reduce the number of knife crime incidents across Staffordshire.
Trading Standards have teamed up with Staffordshire Police for the joint initiative aiming to prevent sales of blades to children and young people.
Officers will be visiting retailers across the county to raise awareness of the law and offer advice on responsible knife sales.
Chief Inspector Dave Barrow, Staffordshire Police’s knife crime lead, said:
“Young people having access to knives can have devastating consequences in our communities – not only on individuals, but their families and wider network.
“Though it is illegal to sell knives to children and anyone under the age of 18, a small minority of businesses can be found to be breaking the law by not carrying out the required checks.
“That is why we continue to support our partners at Trading Standards as part of our oDitch the Blade campaign to protect young people and businesses from the impact of accessing knives.
“We hope that by continuing to raise awareness of the impact of knife-related offences, we can prevent young people from accessing them and further protect our communities from harm.”
As part of this year’s activity, Trading Standards officials from Staffordshire County Council will also be carrying out a number of checks to make sure that retailers are complying with the law.
Cllr Anthony Screen, cabinet member for community safety and resilience at the county council, said:
“Knife crime is a serious concern for communities and preventing knives from reaching children and young people is a crucial part of tackling that harm at source.
“Our Trading Standards officers work closely with Staffordshire Police to support businesses to understand and meet their legal responsibilities. Most retailers want to do the right thing and officers will always provide advice and guidance where needed.
“However, selling a knife to someone under 18 is a criminal offence. Where businesses persistently fail to follow the law, we will not hesitate to take formal enforcement action, including prosecution.
“This means we can create a safer and stronger Staffordshire for everyone, which is a key aim of our recently published Community Safety Strategy.”
