Shops sold knives to teens - as crimes soar

TWO Plymouth shops failed in a plain clothes operation from police and teenage cadets, selling knives to youngsters. It comes as new figures reveal a worrying rise in knife crime in the region.

- CARL EVE

Recent research carried out by security experts at Get Licensed analysed Office of National Statistics data to look into police force areas with the highest number of serious crimes involving a knife. They found that while knife crime in England has decreased by 8.23% over the past five years there had been some increases in knife crime rates in specific areas.

The City of London Police area had seen a staggering 307.14% increase over the past two years, while the Metropolitan Police had seen a rise of 41.91%. The next biggest rise was in the Avon and Somerset Police area at 32.96%, while Devon and Cornwall had the fourth highest rise with 30.87%.

In an effort to mitigate increase in knife offences, Devon and Cornwall Police often carry out a number of different operations to discourage the carrying of knives, including knife-amnesties, with collection tubs at stations around the region. Other tactics have included the use of knife "arches" to discourage people secreting such weapons on them while they are out in public.

A further tactic was encouraging stores to ensure they were abiding by the law and checking on the age of people purchasing knives. Officers from Devonport were recently joined by two police cadets from Citizens In Policing, aged 14 and 16, to visit a number of shops where they attempted to purchase a bladed article, ranging from fishing knives to regular kitchen knife sets.