Britain's Asda supermarkets to stop selling single kitchen knives

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

BUSINESS NEWS MARCH 9, 2019 / 5:21 AM / UPDATED 5 HOURS AGO

Britain's Asda supermarkets to stop selling single kitchen knives

LONDON (Reuters) - Walmart-owned British supermarket chain Asda said it will remove single kitchen knives from sale in all its stores by the end of April.

Britain’s knife-crime rate is soaring and, following a wave of fatal stabbings in recent weeks, many involving teenagers, Prime Minister Theresa May has convened a meeting of ministers and community leaders to discuss ways of tackling the problem.

“We know single knives are the most common knife products to be stolen and that is why we have chosen to remove these items from our stores,” Asda Senior Vice President Nick Jones said in a statement.

It is illegal to sell knives to under-18s in Britain.

Reporting by John Stonestreet; Editing by Ros Russell

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-crime-asda/britains-asda-supermarkets-to-stop-selling-single-kitchen-knives-idUSKBN1QQ08J

[LeftishBrit]

1. I doubt that this would work

People who want to use knives for bad purposes will just buy a set rather than a single knife. Often they're in gangs, who could club together to afford the set. In any case, they can take knives from the cutlery drawer at home.

[muriel_volestrangler]

2. From what I can tell, they're saying "single ones are too easy to shoplift

so we won't sell them".