Two out of eight shops failed when police officers carried out test purchases of knives in Portswood, Mansbridge and Bitterne Park.
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Officers from Southampton North Neighbourhood Policing team carried out test purchases on May 29 as part of ‘Operation Sceptre’ – a campaign to tackle knife crime in the city.
A 15-year-old test purchaser went into various shops and attempted to buy a knife.
Two of the eight unnamed shops tested failed by selling bladed articles to someone aged under 18. On one occasion, a member of staff told the tester to use the self-checkout to make the purchase easier as they couldn’t sell it to her at the till.
Police say “cashiers were spoken to and managers of the stores that failed were given advice around training, responsibility and implementation of ‘Challenge 25’”
Police Sergeant Alex Peacock from Southampton North Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: “It is disappointing that two stores failed but great that the majority did the right thing and challenged a child trying to buy a knife. Correct procedures must be practiced to prevent young people from easily obtaining knives and potentially putting their lives, or the lives of others, at risk.
“These operations are about keeping Southampton safer in partnership. We must ensure retailers uphold their responsibilities in investing in that too.
“We’re really happy with the positive results from the stores that passed and we will keep doing all we can to raise awareness about knife crime and retail responsibility. All the stores will be subject to future testing to ensure consistent compliance.”