UK police set up national hub to cut illegal knife sales

British police on Thursday announced the launch of a new national hub aimed at tackling the illegal sale of banned knives and machetes, many of which are being sold to children through an online “grey market.”

The initiative, led by the National Police Chiefs' Council, will establish a National Knife Crime Centre to coordinate efforts against illegal weapon suppliers. The move comes amid growing concern over knife-related violence across United Kingdom.

According to the Office for National Statistics, there were approximately 50,000 knife-related crimes recorded in England and Wales in the year ending September 2025, with the highest rates reported in London. Data from the Metropolitan Police showed that around a quarter of stabbing victims in 2025 were under the age of 18.

The centre will receive £1.7 billion ($2.2 billion) in government funding annually over the next three years. Police commander Stephen Clayman said the unit will focus on cutting off the supply of dangerous weapons, particularly those that often end up in the hands of vulnerable individuals, including minors.

Authorities have linked the rise in stabbings to the easy availability of so-called “status weapons,” such as machetes, which are widely sold online. Clayman noted that more than half of the identified websites selling these illegal weapons are based overseas, including in the United States and China.

Policing Minister Sarah Jones described the new centre as a “pivotal step” in achieving the government’s ambitious goal of halving knife crime within the next decade. She said the unit will coordinate investigations into illegal sellers and target the growing online grey market where weapons are purchased in large quantities.

Currently, knife sellers in the UK are not subject to compulsory regulation, and while selling to minors is illegal, age verification checks are often easily bypassed. Authorities have also found that some sellers are children themselves, who may view the activity as a form of entrepreneurship.

Police say the crackdown will also target individuals using social media platforms to sell weapons while disregarding the law, as part of broader efforts to reduce knife crime nationwide.