We find how children get hold of knives in London – and it’s not from the dark web

Walking through Bethnal Green, independent corner shops display knives for sale behind their counters.

Although knife crime is going down, it is still the weapon of choice for teenagers.

In the year ending March 2025, 52 young people aged under 25 were murdered with a knife or sharp object. Some 14 of these were aged under 16.

But vanish the idea that teenagers are buying knives through dubious dark websites.

Instead they are getting them from east London’s corner shops. And, armed with two 16-year-olds, Metro went to see just how easy it is.

Operation Sceptre

As part of the NPCC’s Operation Sceptre, the Metropolitan Police frequently carry out compliance checks to see who is bothering to ID their customers when they ask for a knife.

Today’s focus area was Bethnal Green, and four shops were on the target list.

They were already known to police before for either failing previous test purchases or for refusing to sign up to the Responsbile Retailer Scheme.

This aims to prevent the illegal sale of any age-restricted products, and offers training to business owners.

Two volunteer police cadets aged 16 led the way around the shops. Jittery but determined, they walked into the stores and asked if they could buy the weapon.

Both teenagers, who are measured before the operation to make sure they do look reasonably under 18, had seen stabbings and gang crime at their secondary schools.

One said: ‘It feels scarier knowing these shops are selling knives, than going in and asking for one.’

The other added: ‘It’s hard to see what police and schools are actually doing about knife crime. At least we can say, we are trying as well.’

‘Some just see it as a game’

Strutting into the first shop, the two teenagers asked to purchase a knife, while Metro and a supporting officer stood within earshot, looking at mugs commemorating the birth of Princess Charlotte.

The shop assistant grabbed a knife for them, went to ring it up at the till, and at the last second asked for ID.

After the teenagers were told ‘no sale’, they left the store. But Metro stayed behind, and saw staff members gather round and shake hands.

Murmurs of ‘well done boy’ and ‘congratulations’ were heard in the mix of a different language. It was clear they knew it was a test.

Trading Standards Officer Christian Dalley said: ‘It is sad that they see it as a game, it’s just cynical really.

‘But now we’ll make sure we go there again.’

‘Just keep it out of your jacket when you walk out’

The second and third shops, to the relief of everyone around, passed the test.

But the fourth shop failed with flying colors.

The two teenagers were given a knife with ease. They paid and went to walk out of the store holding it.

They were stopped just before they went through the door, but only to be hurriedly told to either put the knife in a plastic bag or conceal it beneath their jacket.

Trading Standards walked into serve a prosecution notice to the shop, with staff refusing to shake the hands of the officers.

‘Our plan is working’

And preemptive action like this is clearly working.

Detective Superintendent Vicky Tunstall told Metro: ‘Knife crime in Tower Hamlets has gone down by around 75%, and we want to keep it that way.

‘We work with retailers – not against them – to keep people safe. But it means checking on the shops where we have intelligence that all is not the way it should be.’

In 2025, the Met took 2,894 knives off the streets, compared to 1,743 in 2024.

There were 97 homicides in London in 2025, an 11% reduction compared to 2024 and the lowest since 2014.

Teenage homicide has fallen to its joint lowest level in almost three decades, matching the record set in 2012.

In 2025, there were eight teenage victims – a reduction of 73% since 2021.

Teenagers account for only 8.3% of all homicides in London. There has been a 74% decrease in homicides involving under 25 victims.

There were 18 in 2025 compared to the 2017 peak of 69, showing clear progress in tackling serious violence among young people.

The number of murders in London has also reduced, with 93 in 2025, at the lowest rate since 2014.

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