A councillor who was stabbed in the chest last month has come out in support of naming and shaming businesses which sell knives to under-18s.
Cllr Ross Hatfull, who was targeted by two men with a knife just 50 metres from his home in Kimberley Avenue, Newbury Park, agreed with a member of the public during a meeting of area committee seven that residents should be made aware of the shops that are ignoring the law.
He said: “If a business deliberately sells a knife to a young person, especially after what happened to me recently, I wouldn’t mind their name being made public because the consequences can be extremely bad.”
The idea was suggested after news of Operation Condor, which is aimed at tackling unlicensed activity involving the sale of alcohol, knives and tobacco to under- 18s, has been running in the area.
Sgt Clyde Rodney said: “I want to reassure residents that the shops involved will be dealt with and fined substantially.”
Cllr Shoaib Patel added: “We have to be careful with naming and shaming especially in this economic downturn. If we named a business it might mean they would lose their livelihood. There are other ways of deterring this activity.”
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