My own advice - PDF document

Youn g people and k nives My own advice would be to avoid carrying any kind of knife in public at all – not because it is wrong, but because of the current climate of hysteria regarding “knife crime” o “It is generally an offence to carry a knife [longer than three inches where the blade does not fold into the handle] in public without good reason or lawful authority ” www.direct.gov.uk/ Prevention of Crime Act 1953 Sectio n 1 A person carrying an “ offensive weapon ” in a “ public place ” is guilty of an offence. Term Definition public place anywhere where the public have or may be permitted to have access whether for payment or not – that includes any Scout camp site and a ny Scout hut. offensive weapon 1) An article made for causing injury to a person , for example, flick kni ves , a bayonet or a hand gun, some sheath knives , b ut not l ock knives and pen knives 2) Articles adapted for use for causing injury to a person (for example, a bottle that has been broken so the broken end may be used to cause injury) 3) An article being carried by a person who intends to use it to cause injury (for example, a hammer)  Carrying an offensive weapon for "self defence" in case of attack is not a reasonable excuse  Having a knife on your person because you had been using the article for an innocent purpose earlier and had “forgotten” to put it away afterwards is not a reasonable excuse  There are situations when carrying a knife which cou ld be a n offensive weapon would be permissible. On Scout camps a person would probably be considered as having a reasonable excuse were they were carrying, say, a sheath knife or a machete to use to make camp gadgets. However carrying such an article on ca mp (if a public place) without such a purpose or for any other good reason would be against the law.  The maximum penalty for a conviction of this offence is 4 years imprisonment. Age is not a relevant factor so far as this offence is concerned except insof ar as children under the age of 10 are below the age of criminal responsibility  Note that threatening someone with a small pen - knife, even in jest, could arguably be an offence under 3) above. Criminal Justice Act 1988 Section 139 A person carrying an ar ticle with a blade or a point in a public place has committed an offence unless they can prove any of the following: -  That they had lawful authority or reasonable excuse for carrying it ;  That they were carrying the article for use at work ;  That they were c arrying it for religious reasons ;  That they were carrying it as part of national costume ; This offence is punishable by a maximum of 2 years imprisonment Folding pocket knives with blades not exceeding 3 inches are exempt from this provision. This mea ns that it is not an offence to carry a pen knife around with you. Age does not matter - anyone can own or carry a penknife no matter what age they are. The only occasion when the police should take action would be if the person is using , or appears to int end to use - the penknife in s uch a way a s to cause criminal damage or to injure someone. Carrying knives with lockable blades of any l e ngth and folding pocket knives with blades exceeding 3 inches are an offence under this law together with any other art icle that has a blade or is sharply pointed, such as a stanley knife. As above, "self defence" in case of attack or “forgetting” to put the knife away after earlier work is not a reasonable excuse . Offensive Weapons Act 1996 Section 4 It is an offence to carry a blade or a point or an offensive weapon on school premises  The same four defences apply here as to the Criminal Justice Act 1988 Section 139(1) as outlined above.  Further, this does not apply to the carrying of pocket folding knives with blades less than 3 inches in length. In other words it is still perfectly legal to carry an ordinary penknife on school premises, just as it is anywhere else.