Responsible Retailer Agreement relaunched in London after rise in underage knife sales

An initiative to tackle the sale of knives to underage purchasers has been relaunched after dozens of retailers across London failed to check if buyers were of legal age.

More than half of the test purchases (55%) were successful when undercover operations were carried out in May and August, with 104 sales resulting from 190 attempts.

“The young Special Constables’ test purchasing certainly shows how poorly Challenge 25 is used in parts of London. As a result we felt we needed to relaunch the Responsible Retailer Agreement (RRA) to raise awareness of the importance of not selling to anyone who is under age,” Senior Trading Standards Officer Doug Love, said.

Run by London Trading Standards, the RRA is supported by The Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) and the Metropolitan Police Service. So far nearly 300 independent knives sellers have signed up across London.

It was initially launched in 2019, urging retailer to follow the ASSESS-CHALLENGE-CHECK process for selling age-restricted goods. It also aims to make retailer aware when and how to contact police with suspicions of knife crime or where staff feel threatened by customers, along with the basic requirements for the safe storage of knives.

“Knife retailers have a legal and moral responsibility to help us ensure that potentially lethal weapons don’t end up in the wrong hands, and I welcome the Responsible Retailer Agreement which will ensure retailers are able to challenge an illegal sale and provide advice on safe storage and sale of knives,” Sophie Linden, Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime, said.

Detective Chief Superintendent Lee Hill, Head of the Metropolitan Police Violent Crime Taskforce, added: “Knife crime would not disappear if all shops sold and stored knives responsibly, but young and agitated people intent on using knives as a weapon would be denied immediate access to them and this can only be a positive step”.

Trading Standards officers are responsible for enforcing the law relating to the sale of knives to people under 18. The initiative aims to standardise training across all retail sectors by raising awareness, improving knowledge and understanding of how good product placement and additional security measures can prevent theft and illegal sales of knives.

Each module in the training comprises of a short animation and knowledge check, which also includes training on the Offensive Weapons Act essential for delivery drivers to enable them to ASSESS, CHALLENGE and CHECK as well.

STSO, Doug Love, added: “This commitment not only encourages high street retailers to store and sell responsibly, but also to protect their communities.

“With the training and advice freely available to retailers, there should be many fewer sales of knives to underage buyers and no instances of thefts of knives from open display, with potentially fatal results.”

The good practice guide for knife retailers that offers training and best practice can be found here.