THE campaigner behind proposals to clamp down on illegal knife sales will visit Teesside next month.
Pooja Kanda – mother of murdered 16-year-old Ronan – will be one of the speakers at a knife crime summit on Wednesday 12 March 2025.
She will be talking about Government proposals announced today and commonly known as “Ronan’s law.”
Organised by Cleveland Unit for the Reduction of Violence (CURV,) the summit at Middlesbrough’s Riverside Stadium will feature a range of speakers and workshops.
It will bring together victims, members of the community, businesses and partners agencies working with the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner to discuss potential solutions to the current crisis.
According to latest, quarterly Government figures knife crime increased by four per cent in the year ending September 2024.*
Ronans Law
Proposals under “Ronan’s Law” include plans to ensure online retailers report suspicious and bulk purchases of knives.
There will also be tougher sentences for those caught selling knives to under-18s, as part of a Government crackdown on knife crime
Sentencing for those caught selling weapons to under-18s will rise from six months to up to two years in prison if new laws are passed by Parliament
Penalties could apply to a worker processing the sale or the company’s Chief Executive. Stricter sentencing will also apply to the sale or supply of prohibited offensive weapons such as zombie knives.
A new offence of possessing an offensive weapon with intent for violence will also be introduced as part of the Crime and Policing Bill.
The new offence will attract a prison sentence of up to four years. That means that it doesn’t matter if a weapon is legal or not, if there is intent to cause violence, it is a crime.
Cleveland Police and Crime Commissioner Matt Storey said: “I am really looking forward to meeting Pooja Kanda.
“I want to learn more about her experience of losing her son to knife crime as well as her campaign to protect other people’s children from a similar fate.
“It will also be a chance for people, like Pooja, with personal experience to get together with the experts and discuss how we can tackle the problem.
“The addition of the so-called Ronan’s Law to the Crime and Policing Bill is a further step in the right direction to protect the nation’s children and make retailers more responsible for sales.
“The increase in sentencing for online retailers follows work to highlight current discrepancies in the law, which means you are likely to get a stiffer sentence for possessing a knife than selling one illegally.”
Ronan’s Law links to Matt’s Police and Crime Plan priority of reducing crime, antisocial behaviour and harm.
Ronan Kanda was killed in 2022 in a case of mistaken identity near his home in Wolverhampton. He was just 16.