A retired Limerick det garda who saw the impact of knife crime in his native city has called on supermarket chain Lidl to remove “shocking” knives from its shelves.
The “knife assortment” which are retailing on Lidl’s shelves for €5.99, include a “pocket knife” with “21 practical functions” that includes a “saw” type blade.
Retired detective Seán Lynch, complained: “One looks like a hunting knife, then you have another one with all different [blades] and then you have another serious looking one; I honestly believe this stuff is shocking.
“These are not your general run-of-the-mill house knives/kitchen knives; these are far from that . . . and Lidl should take them off the shelves.
“Are Lidl going to sell these to anyone, any age group, what controls have they in place? Something needs to be done and they should be taken off the shelves.
“For €5.99 you can get the most serious weapon that has the potential in causing serious injury, and fatal injury, and I can’t believe Lidl stores are doing this when we are trying to do our best to combat knife crime.”
The former detective said he had been involved in investigations where knives had been the weapon of choice, that he had seen the results of knife attacks where people received serious injuries and fatalities.
“We can’t be saying we need to be combatting knife crime and then we have a general store, that’s popular with a lot of people, selling these type of knives at this price.”
Mr Lynch said knife crime is “a national problem” and highlighted how the Government plans to introduce legislation before Christmas, whereby a judge would be able to impose sentences of up to 10 years for an offence of carrying a knife “with intent”.
The current maximum sentence for carrying a knife is five years.
Minister of State at the Department of Justice James Browne has said he is also seeking to introduce an age-16 requirement on purchasing knives.
Flick knives are already banned in the Republic. However, Mr Browne has also spoken of his fears regarding so-called “zombie knives”, which due to their saw action blade can cause extremely serious injuries or death if pulled out of a person.
Mr Lynch said the prevalence of knives is worrying.
“If you are stopped by the gardaí and you are found to be in possession of a knife what’s your reasonable excuse? ‘Oh sure, I’m after buying it in Lidl, they’re advertised and they’re selling them at €5.99’. So, are the gardaí caught between a rock and hard place, then?”
Lidl response
When asked for a response, a Lidl spokeswoman said: “To put into context, as you can see from the full page in our leaflet attached, our Crivit Knife Assortment is part of our camping and outdoor activity range which we sell on a promotional basis similar to many outdoor activity stores on the high street.
“Of course, the safety of our customers is always our top priority. And we do have a policy in place that states that it is prohibited to sell a knife or sharp object to anyone under 18.
“If a customer wishes to purchase such an item, our employees are instructed to ask for ID.”