Knives & Weapons
Knives taken onto the streets can only cause misery, injury and death. The laws on knives and other weapons are there to keep you, your families, friends and other members of the public safe.
Law
The law says that ‘You cannot carry any weapon in a public place unless you have a reasonable excuse’. A weapon is defined as ‘Any weapon which is made, adapted or intended for causing injury.’ This means that if you have anything with you to hurt someone then you commit an offence.Weapons
Daggers, bayonets, flick knives, butterfly knives, sword sticks, truncheons, and knuckledusters are automatically seen as made offensive weapons. As would rice flails and some martial arts weapons.
Blades & Points
Another law about weapons makes an offence to have any bladed or sharply pointed article with you in a public place.Pen Knives
Pen knives or folding pocket knives are allowed if the blade is under 3 inches or 7.6cm. It is considered that less injury would be caused by a blade this size or under, but imagine a three inch blade stuck in your wrist, throat or eye!School
It is an offence to take any offensive weapons or bladed or sharply pointed articles to school or have such items with you on school premises no matter what time of day.
Search
Police have the power to search anyone in public who they reasonably believe to be in possession of any of these weapons. They also have the power to enter schools and search pupils. If any such weapons are found they can seize them and arrest those in possession of them.Court
For just possessing any of theses weapons you could end up at court. The maximum prison sentence is 6 months at Magistrates court or 2 years at Crown Court If you use them in crime or hurt someone then the penalties increase.Own Protection
It is not a defence to say you took a weapon or knife out onto the streets for your own protection. If you did not take it with you then someone could not get stabbed with it!
You can also download a PDF copy of this document to use as handouts in a classroom environment or to give to a child (children) in your care, by clicking the link below.