Shops in Netherfield sold knives to people under 18 during a test purchase operation by Nottinghamshire Police.
A total of 35 shops were visited in the city and Netherfield area during the operation in June and July.
It is a criminal offence to sell a knife to a person under the age of 18 and the shops that failed the test purchase will now be investigated and face prosecution.
This is the third year that Nottinghamshire Police has run such an operation, making use of young people under the age of 18 to act as a customer and attempt to buy a knife.
The fail rate of 25 per cent is an improvement on the fail rate of 45 per cent in 2015 and 44 per cent in 2016.
Sergeant Heather Sutton, of Nottinghamshire Police’s Knife Crime Team, said: “We know knives can be easy to come by and this operation is a small aspect of our multi-faceted approach to combating knife crime.
“We are pleased to see the steps the shops within Nottingham have taken to prevent knives getting into the hands of children, and will work with those who failed the operation to prevent them from making illegal sales again. Our proactive and preventative activity around knife crime will continue.”
We urge anyone who has any information about knife crime to report it to Nottinghamshire Police on 101.
You can also report anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or via the online form www.crimestoppers-uk.org
