Ministers consider under-18 knife ban
Ministers are planning to ban under-18s from buying knives as part of a package of measures to stem knife crime, says the Home Office.
Home Secretary David Blunkett and Education Secretary Charles Clarke are reportedly considering the move alongside plans to introduce searches in schools.
Raising the age at which teenagers can buy a knife from 16 to 18 would bring the law into line with current restrictions on the sale of fireworks and alcohol.
“We must do everything we can to get knives off the streets, including toughening the law,” said Mr Blunkett.
“I think that there is a very strong argument for having to be 18 to buy a knife, just as with alcohol and fireworks,” he added.
Speaking on Sunday, a Home Office spokesman confirmed that Mr Blunkett was planning to announce the proposals shortly.
“Although the incidences do actually remain small, it is part of our crime reduction agenda and I think the Home Secretary particularly recognises the public concern,” said the spokesman.
It is reported that a consultation would be held on the proposed changes, with Wednesday being mooted as a possible date for an announcement.
The Home Office says that there were 272 murders involving a sharp instrument in 2002/3 – up four per cent on 2001/2.
In November 2003, 14-year-old Luke Walmsley, was stabbed to death by a fellow pupil at the Birkbeck School in North Somercotes, Lincolnshire.
The teenager’s death prompted calls for improved security within schools.
Earlier this month, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir John Stevens said that punishments for those carrying knives should be made tougher.
The police chief said that people carrying knives “for the wrong reasons” should be given mandatory sentences of up to three years.
