The law deems some weapons so dangerous that even possessing them in a private place is an offence.
These are weapons specifically designed to cause death and injury, a full description of which you can find in my earlier Brief Guide to Offensive Weapons in Private Places.
Since 24th September 2024 so-called "zombie" knives and machetes have featured on this list of banned weapons, although some people are still completely oblivious to the fact.
I have to be honest, had it not been for my direct involvement in the criminal justice system I too would be oblivious to the total ban on zombie-style knives. In my opinion the change in legislation was not widely publicised.
For the purposes of the legislation, a zombie-style knife or machete is a bladed article that satisfies all three of the following requirements:
- It has a plain cutting edge;
- It has a sharp pointed end; and
- It has a blade that exceeds 8 inches in length (when measured from tip of the sharp pointed end to the top of the handle in a straight line).
- A serrated cutting edge (apart from one not exceeding 2 inches in length immediately adjacent to the handle);
- More than one hole in the blade;
- Spikes;
- More than two sharp points in the blade.
A couple of weeks ago another of these cases appeared before the court. The police were searching a property in relation to other matters when they came across a large diving-style knife on a work bench in the garage. The knife was seized, examined and classified as being of zombie-style under the legislation. The occupier, who had no history of violence, was charged with possessing an offensive weapon in a private place.
Appearing in court the occupier explained that the knife, which he'd owned for as long as he could remember, had been used as a tool around the house and garden for years. The police had chanced upon it when they were there in relation to other matters. There was no suggestion that the knife had ever been used anywhere apart from the man's own private property. Like a lot of people, he was totally oblivious to the fact that the state now prohibited mere ownership of such a weapon.
So how does the court deal with such an offender?
I'm actually not going to reveal the sentence of the court just yet, but I'd invite readers to submit their own ideas on sentence in the comments.
I shall update this article in a couple of day's time to confirm how the man was dealt with.
Update (9/6/25): I can confirm that the defendant was made subject to a 6 month conditional discharge and a deprivation order was made in respect of the knife.
7 comments:
Knives mean prison, don't they?
I’d hope a conditional discharge may have been considered
Probably a pat on the back and told not to do it again
There doesn’t appear to be a guideline for this offence. Given the circumstances outlined (I wasn’t there to hear all of the facts) a CD with forfeiture and destruction would seem just, bearing in mind also, that ignorance of the law is not a defence.
The first 3 points include the majority of kitchen knives i.e. they describe what most of us think a knife is. The following points are likely to include some kitchen knives, e.g. a serrated edge on one side or holes (typically found on some Japanese-style kitchen knives). I'm not sure what the relevance of holes in the blade is.
There is no guideline for this offence, no. In the circumstances we considered a conditional discharge was appropriate.
A very sensible outcome
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