Responsible Retailers

Specialist Police Officers dedicated to working with businesses are working with retailers across the county to clamp down on the sale of knives in a bid to drive down crime.

Officers have been visiting businesses that sell knives to seek their agreement to sign a “Responsible Retailer Initiative”, a fresh agreement around the ethical and careful sale of knives.

Starting in Colchester, retailers visited so far include Robert Dyas, Sainsbury’s, TK Maxx and a number of outdoor pursuits shops in the city centre, Tollgate and the Hythe.

As part of a renewed commitment to knife crime prevention, the signed agreement will bind retailers to several key points, including:

• An agreement to store and display knives safely and securely.
  • Operating a strict ‘Challenge 25’ age verification policy.
  • Prominently displaying ‘Challenge 25’ posters explaining age verification to customers.
  • Full and robust training for retail staff.
  • An understanding of retailers’ ability to refuse sale to anyone if there is a concern a knife will be misused, or if they appear drunk, agitated or aggressive.
  • An agreement to share relevant knife crime intelligence with appropriate agencies.

The campaign is rolled out across the whole of Essex. It follows on from a continued concerted partnership effort to campaign on the dangers of knife harm and take dangerous weapons off our streets.