Yahoo News The operation that reveals just how easy it is for a 15-year-old to buy a knife in Greater Manchester
Eight shops across Manchester and Trafford sold knives to 15-year-old children in an undercover operation.
The youngsters visited 11 shops across the city centre and Trafford area as part of the operation carried out by Greater Manchester Police and Trading Standards. Eight of the 11 shops sold a knife to the underage buyers.
Only two shops, both in Trafford, refused to sell a knife to the children. One business had no knives for sale.
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The youngsters taking part in the undercover operation were Greater Manchester Police cadets. Officers accompanied them into the stores.
GMP said the retailers that sold knives to them will be 'dealt with'. Trading Standards will go back, 'look at the history of the store in question and decide on a course of action'.
The operation was carried out as part of police's bid to tackle knife crime in the city. It is against the law to sell anyone a knife under the age of 18, but businesses should also 'never sell if they have concerns about how the knife will be used', police added.
Detective Inspector Kat McKeown said: "Shop workers play a key role in helping us to keep knives off our streets. While it was disappointing to see eight shops out of the eleven we visited agreeing to sell a knife to someone under the age of 18, it demonstrates where there is a problem and we have proactive plans in place to help solve it.
"It’s one part of our multipronged approach to reducing knife crime, working alongside partners and the community. One of the main reasons why we pinpointed which business premises to target comes off the back of complaints made to us and their respective councils.
"We then act on that information by building an intelligence picture and seeing if those complaints match up with our own intelligence. Myself and the rest of the team have seen first-hand how gaining access to a knife can escalate youth violence to have fatal and life-changing consequences.
"The focus of this activity was to ensure that our communities are kept as safe as possible and to provide education in relation the dangers and threats and ultimately prevent knife crime and the devastating effects knife-related incidents have on young people, their families and our communities."
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