Stricter Knife Sale Rules and Longer Sentences Under Ronan’s Law

The government is planning stricter rules for online knife sales. Retailers must report suspicious knife purchases to the police, and they also need stronger age checks on their sites. Selling weapons to minors will carry a longer sentence, increasing from six months to two years. This applies to both sales staff and company leaders.

This tougher penalty also covers banned weapons, such as zombie knives. The UK banned these knives in September 2024. The Crime and Policing Bill will create a new offense: possessing a weapon intending violence. The sentence could be up to four years in jail.

These changes honor Ronan Kanda, who was murdered by teens who bought weapons online in 2022. They mistook him for someone else, and one teen used his mom’s ID to buy over twenty knives. Similar cases have devastated communities.

Gordon Gault died after a stabbing caused by a machete purchased online. Lawson Natty bought the machete at 17, and his friend, Carlos Neto, used it to stab Gordon. Gordon was only fourteen years old.

Both teens avoided murder charges but were guilty of manslaughter. Natty received two years and eight months, while Neto got nine years and two months in prison. He was also seventeen when Gordon was stabbed.

The Home Secretary finds online knife access for youth “horrifying.” New actions aim to cut knife crime in half within ten years. The government has made this knife crime issue a priority and plans to invest in a special police unit. This unit pursues those breaking the law and endangering children and teenagers.

The Home Office will consult on a registration scheme for knife sellers, specifically those selling knives online. Earlier proposals suggested fining tech firms £10,000 for illegal content. The new rules include mandatory two-step verification for all sellers.