Police are calling for an end to the sale of knives in “mystery boxes” online, branding the practice “ludicrous”.
An independent review commissioned by the Home Office revealed these boxes, often marketed as “Lucky Dip” promotions and priced as low as £10, are readily available online, even boasting numerous five-star reviews.
This discovery comes as the government announces a series of measures to combat knife crime. These include mandatory reporting by retailers of bulk or suspicious knife sales to law enforcement, and increased prison sentences of up to two years for selling weapons to minors or prohibited blades like zombie knives.
The report also looked at the “grey market”, where blades are bought in bulk and resold illegally on social media or face-to-face.
Metropolitan Police Commander Stephen Clayman, who is the national lead for knife crime and led the review, said of knife prices online: “Some of them are as cheap as a tenner, 15 quid or cheaper, and what we also want to stop – a lot of them do these mystery boxes, so you pay £15 and you’ll just get a selection of knives, a mystery box, which is ludicrous, so that needs to stop for a start.”
Mr Clayman said “we don’t know” the scale of it because “once you look for it, you’ll find it”.
“We couldn’t give you the scale of the issue on the grey market, but you can see the distinction between online official retailers, for want of a better word, and your grey market sellers,” he said.
“They’re two issues that are running alongside, but we need to tackle them collectively.”
He said grey market activity was happening “across all of the main social media platforms”, which engaged with the review.
But the report said grey market sales are not illegal because there is no licence or registration needed to sell knives.
Asked about focusing on online knife sales, Mr Clayman said: “We know from research that young people, yes, they can pick up a kitchen knife, but they’re actually going looking to buy these horrendous-looking knives because there’s a bit of a concept around the attractiveness, accessibility, affordability of these knives.”
Longer blades are attractive because of the “status” attached to them, he added.
Mr Clayman said sellers on social media do not use paid-for adverts or outwardly say they are selling, but then will speak to potential customers on another platform such as WhatsApp.
The report detailed an example of a 34-second video on Snapchat with hunting knives and a boxed crossbow lying on a bed, and a display name using a plug emoji, in reference to slang for a supplier.
Officers investigating the seller found he had bought 563 knives and swords for nearly £6,000, and a search warrant found 99 blades ranging from penknives to machetes in his home in August 2021.
The report said it is believed he sold the 464 knives not found at his home and “potentially many others that police couldn’t prove”.
The report sets out numerous recommendations including improving data collection on the types of knives used in crimes, tightening social media and search engine regulation and the creation of a registration scheme for online knife retailers.
It also called for social media platforms to be required to take down prohibited content within 48 hours of the police flagging it to them, and age verification in courier delivery and collection services, which could include a PIN reference number similar to fast-food orders to verify the purchase.
Among other suggestions is the designation of a “prohibited person” – someone who has shown a “propensity” for knife possession or violence through previous convictions or cautions – who would be banned from applying to be a registered knife seller and from buying certain types of knives.
A consultation will be held later in the year on whether online retailers should have to register to sell knives.
