LoginTS Targets Underage Knife Sales
Barking & Dagenham TS has been working to tackle knife crime on its patch with an innovative range of initiatives.
Journal of Trading Standards Staff
Posted 15 January 2025 | JoTS Online
Content Tags: Analysis|Health and Safety|London
Barking & Dagenham Council Trading Standards has been taking a proactive stance on knife crime with a range of partnership initiatives designed to tackle underage sales, teach emergency wound treatment and address the root causes of knife-related youth violence.
The Trading Standards team have been central to a council-wide approach to the problem, which is particularly acute in a borough that has seen a spate of serious knife-related crimes. Over the last two years alone, there have been 67 recorded knife attacks in the borough in which a young person has been injured.
Through initiatives including test purchases and a responsible retailer scheme, Barking & Dagenham Trading Standards hopes to make it as difficult as possible for knives to fall into the wrong hands. The council has also delivered specialised first-aid training to Year 12 students in the borough to equip them to save lives. That training has also been made available to all frontline staff in the council’s Regulatory Services and Community Hubs, including Trading Standards and Environmental Health.
We've seen vast quantities of knives of the most gruesome type available, being shipped to people with little or no age verification
In addition, the council has funded 10 wall-mounted bleed kits for all Community Hubs and major public buildings in the borough, as well as 20 mobile bleed kits for frontline teams.
Barking & Dagenham Council Trading Standards Service Manager, Nazir Ali, is passionate about tackling knife crime on his patch, and his efforts and those of his colleagues were recognised at this year’s CTSI Hero Awards.
In July he took part in a Knife Crime Symposium organised by the Barking & Dagenham Community Safety Partnership. “I presented the role of Trading Standards in tackling knife crime using test purchasing projects, responsible retailer schemes, prosecutions and enhanced comms,” he explained. “I also showcased the importance of using alternative sanctions and Proceeds of Crime funding to deliver preventative interventions such as bespoke first-aid training.”
Lost Hours Project
A key part of the strategy has been a link-up with the Ben Kinsella Trust, which was founded in memory of a 16-year-old schoolboy who was stabbed to death in 2008 during a night out with friends in London.
The charity educates young people about the dangers of knives, promotes awareness of knife crime in policy circles, and campaigns for action and justice for those affected by knife crime.
Through the Lost Hours Project, the Ben Kinsella Trust has worked with Barking & Dagenham Council to get the message out. The campaign was created in response to a rise in youth violence and anti-social behaviour in the borough between the hours of 3pm and 7pm when children finish school and their parents get home from work. The charity also brought its ‘Choices and Consequences’ exhibition to Barking & Dagenham, providing workshops to young people.
The Ben Kinsella Trust’s Chief Executive, Patrick Green, told the Journal: “We’re big supporters of Trading Standards, not just in Barking & Dagenham, but throughout the country. We see the work that they do, particularly with test purchasing, and it’s really important.”
The Ben Kinsella Trust was among those pushing for tighter controls on knife sales, with the actor Idris Elba lending his support to its ‘Don’t Stop Your Future’ campaign.
In September the Government announced a ban on ‘zombie-style’ knives, a move which Green welcomed – but he believes there is more work to be done. “Our big concern at the moment is with online sales,” he said. “We’ve seen vast quantities of knives of the most gruesome type available, being shipped to people with little or no age verification, and there have been a number of incidents where these knives have been used in murders.
“We’re now pushing the Government to do more in terms of regulation on age verification.”
Update: On January 22, the Government announced it will introduce tougher age verification measures for online knife sales.
PLEASE NOTE: This content originally appeared on our standalone Journal of Trading Standards website (www.journaloftradingstandards.co.uk), which we are gradually migrating over to the Journal's new home on the CTSI website. Please bear with us while we complete this process. This will not affect the production of our Print Edition.
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Content Tags: Analysis|Health and Safety|London
