Amid Surge in Knife Violence, British Supermarket Chain Pulls Kitchen Knives off Shelves

In the face of rising knife violence rates in the UK, supermarket chain Asda will no longer be selling individual kitchen knives. This comes on the heels of the company's decision in 2016 to securely package all knives after a customer was stabbed inside a Poundland, another British grocery chain. For their part, Poundland stopped selling knives altogether last year. The grocery chains aren't entirely incorrect — England does have a growing knife violence problem. However, regulating knives won't stop the violence. And, boy, does England have a growing knife violence problem. Over the first three months of 2019, England, with a population of just under 56 million, has seen 41 people killed by a knife based on this BBC report. According to the LA Times, "There were 285 knife homicides in England and Wales from April 1, 2017, to March 31, 2018, the highest number since comparable records began in 1946."-- More...