Wiltshire PCC questions viability of two-step ID for knife purchases
Under 18s could need to produce two forms of ID to buy knives
Wiltshire's Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) has welcomed the Prime Minister's commitment to tackling knife crime - but has raised questions over it's practicality.
Following revelations that Southport killer Axel Rudakubana used a knife bought online in his attack last July, PM Sir Kier Starmer has pledged to introduce two-step identification for under 18s to purchase knives.
This would include producing a drivers licence or passport as well as recording a live video to prove their age.
The Prime Minister said: "It remains shockingly easy for our children to get their hands on deadly knives. The lessons of this case could not be clearer.
"Time and again, as a child, the Southport murderer carried knives. Time and again, he showed clear intent to use them.
"And yet, tragically, he was still able to order the murder weapon off of the internet without any checks or barriers. A two-click killer. This cannot continue.
"The technology is there to set up age verification checks, even for kitchen knives ordered online.
"We must now use it to protect our children from future attack and I will ensure that this happens."
PCC Philip Wilkinson said the move is 'a step forward' but it's viability remains to be seen.
"If they legitimately need to buy a knife, do young people actually carry 2 folds of identification? I suspect not, which maybe is not a bad thing because that restricts the number of people who can.
"They'll have to make a major effort to get 2 forms of identification," he said.
He also raised concerns that retailers would insist on seeing two forms of ID, saying it is 'doubtful', that all shop owners would be 'sufficiently responsible and law abiding'.
"When that legislation is enacted, then we enforce it rigorously so that retailers, those people selling the knives, know that if they don't demand two forms of identification, they are going to be in trouble," he said.
The PCC added that there's more to tackling knife crime than demanding two forms of ID, including educating young people and adults on the
He said: "It's a matter of understanding the causes, addressing the underlying causes, the symptoms and the consequences, not just of the potential offender, the young person who might carry that the knife, but also providing awareness to the victim.
"And of course, we need to engage with all adults who will be in that environment with them."