Sale of knives etc to persons under 18

There are two guidelines for the offence of the sale of knives etc to persons under 18 contrary to section 141A of the Criminal Justice Act 1988; one for sentencing individuals and one for sentencing organisations. 

These guidelines apply to offenders who fail to ensure that adequate safeguards are in place to prevent the sale of knives to under 18s either in-store or online.

The guidelines were published on 15 February 2023 and came into effect on 1 April 2023.

Consultation

The Council consulted on draft guidelines for this offence between 1 June 2022 and 24 August 2022. The draft guidelines were published under the name: Sale of knives etc to persons under 18. The name was amended to include “by retailers” following the consultation.

Related documents

To support the guidelines and consultations, the Council publishes a range of documents. These documents may include consultation responses, statistical bulletins, resource and equality impact assessments and guideline assessments.

Related documents: Sale of knives etc by retailers to persons under 18