Chiswick Police and the London Borough of Hounslow Trading Standards Department have teamed up to deal with shops that illegally sell knives to children.

On Thursday 13th August 2009, Officers from Turnham Green Safer Neighbourhoods Team and Trading Standards officers were disappointed to find that the first premises they visited sold a stanley knife to a 15 year old girl.

Hounslow Trading Standards Officers have begun prosecution proceedings against the manager. Other premises will be visited across Chiswick during the operation, which is designed to target knife crime amongst young people.

Last year, a similar operation led to two prosecutions against retailers in the Chiswick area.

Sergeant Ben Clark of Turnham Green Safer Neighbourhoods Team said "Despite the prosecutions last year, it is clear that some shopkeepers are still insistent on taking a risk to flout the law, and we will conduct further work with Trading Standards to ensure that shops, managers and business owners get the message out that selling weapons to young people is not acceptable."

August 14, 2009