Online retailers may have to require customers buying a knife 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 a package is delivered. This could also include a person submitting a 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. These are among the proposals due to be included in the Crime and Policing Bill which is expected to be introduced to Parliament by spring, the Home Office has announced.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper described the proposed measures as part of Labour’s ‘Plan for Change’ and ‘mission to make streets safer’. She 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.”
Last year the Home Secretary commissioned Commander Stephen Clayman, the national police lead on knife crime, to review the online sale and delivery of knives; the report is expected shortly.
Police work to stem knife sales and crime was featured in the December edition of Professional Security Magazine.
