This petition is now closed, as its deadline has passed.
We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to remove the "due diligence" defence to stop shops escaping prosecution for underage knife sales. More details
Submitted by David Woods of Barking and Dagenham Council – Deadline to sign up by: 08 November 2008 – Signatures: 444
Barking and Dagenham Council recently mounted a trading standards operation to find out if shops would sell a knife to an underage volunteer. Shockingly, around 50% of the shops we visited allowed the sale to go ahead.
However, many of them will escape prosecution, using the defence of "due diligence". This means that if shops can prove they have done all they can to stop the underage sales happening, they can avoid prosecution.
But this Council considers that, in order to tackle weapon culture among young people, the Government must do everything it can to restrict their access to knives.
That is why we believe the law needs to be changed to remove this defence and force shops to take their responsibilities seriously.
With your support, we believe that we can persuade the Government to change the law, force shops to significantly tighten their procedures, and stop children buying knives on the high street.
Thank you for your support.
David Woods, Director of Customer Services, Barking and Dagenham Council
David Woods, the Petition Creator, joined by: