A new law introduced after a spate of high-profile knife crimes will make it harder for young people to purchase knives online, the UK government announced Wednesday.
The stricter regulation follows several fatal knife crimes involving young people, including the 2024 murder of three girls by teenager Axel Rudakubana, who was able to purchase the blade he used on Amazon, bypassing age verification rules.
“Ronan’s Law”, named after a 16-year-old murdered in 2022, will require retailers to report “suspicious” and bulk blade purchases to authorities, as well as bolster age verification checks.
The jail terms for retailers who sell knives to under-18s will also be increased from six months to up to two years under the new law.
The punishment “could apply to an individual who has processed the sale or a CEO of the company”, according to a Home Office press release.
“It is horrifying how easy it is for young people to get hold of knives online even though children’s lives are being lost, and families and communities are left devastated as a result,” interior minister Yvette Cooper said in a statement.
The current law states that retailers must verify the age of the customer before selling a knife and, for those bought online, at the point of collection or delivery.
Under the new rules, online sellers will be required to verify photo identities and ages at the point of sale and delivery.
UK PM Keir Starmer’s administration has pledged to halve knife crime in the next decade and has banned zombie-style knives and machetes.
While Britain has some of the strictest gun controls in the world, rampant knife crime has been branded a “national crisis” by Starmer.
In the year leading up to March 2024, there were 262 murders in England and Wales using a knife or sharp instrument, according to the Ben Kinsella Trust, an anti-knife crime charity.
Of those murdered, 57 were under the age of 25.
The new law is named after Ronan Kanda, who was killed three years ago by teenagers who bought knives online and collected them from a post office, without having their identities or ages checked.
The government is also considering a registration scheme that would allow “responsible” online retailers to sell knives.
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