An undercover police investigation carried out with Wiltshire teens has found that over half of shops in the Marlborough area sell knives illegally.
Operation Sceptre was first launched in Chippenham on Monday, May 13, and following concerning results officers decided to extend the operation to Marlborough.
Officers from NPT Devizes, Marlborough and Pewsey sent four under 18’s from Devizes RAF Cadets into 23 shops in Marlborough, Pewsey and Devizes on Monday, May 13 and Tuesday, May 14.
The cadets each attempted to buy a knife, and each cadet carried ID proving that they were just 17.
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By law, it is a criminal offence for knives to be sold to under 18s, and stores should check the ID of anyone under the age of 25.
But of the 23 shops tested, 15 of them willingly sold bladed articles to underage teens.
“We were extremely disappointed by the results of this operation," said PC Rideout from NPT Devizes.
"Knife crime is a growing concern and for the cadets to have this level of success was equally concerning and disappointing."
The result in the Marlborough area followed a similar operation in the Chippenham area, where one-third of stores sold knives to children.
The failures were highlighted to shift supervisors and managers at the time, and the operation will now be repeated in the near future to prosecute repeat offenders.
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