Categorized | General, Personal

UK knife law

Posted on 18 August 2006

The carrying of knives.

Much like many other media mania terms (terrorist springs to mind), the word “knife” has a strong streak of fear running through it these days. Only nutters, criminals and terrorists carry knives! Only “bad kids” from the “wrong side of the tracks”, gang members, etc.

Right?

No. Not even close. In fact the largest knife carrying group are policemen, but we will leave them for another day.

No, most knives are in the hands, bag and pockets of people using them in their work. People like me. I carry a Leatherman, this has a knife attachment. In fact, it has two. does that make me a madman?

Of course not.

Whilst I, and indeed all good people, try in every way to follow laws this one has again been screwed up.

It comes down to the perception of dangerous and dangerous. When I was at a police course many years a go, a lady from the Hertfordshire riot squad told me that the most dangerous weapon she faces is actually a screwdriver because of the focussed penetrative nature of the device whilst at the same time being completely street legal.

Now by street legal I know that means you can still be arrested for having in an inappropriate place such as in a pub.

Knives have become a typically over inflated public concern so we hear that knives have to be under 3 inches.

Criminal Justice Act, 1988. Section 139(1).

It is an offence for any person, without lawful authority or good reason, to have with him in a public place, any article which has a blade or is sharply pointed except for a folding pocket-knife which has a cutting edge to its blade not exceeding 3 inches

Ok, ok, out goes my collection of very nice Spyderco knives and in comes an equally nice Opinell. Then, a few years ago and to celebrate my promotion to senior system admin I finally got the cash together to buy a leatherman from a shop 300 yards away from Liverpool St. train station This leatherman is the new TI with locking blades.

Now we are told that we cannot have locking blades.

This is like having a gun with no safety catch.

My leatherman is a tool, I use it almost every day and always keep it with me even at weekends (in a bag for such like). Yes it has a blade on it. Yes that blade locks.

Frustrating? Yes.

Many of my fellows switch to using the few folders with non locking blades and some take the lock off their opinell, however, I consider a non locking folder to be VERY DANGEROUS and I hesitate to use one.

Now I walk through Liverpool st every day for the last 7 years. I have never been stopped, never been even asked “what’s that on your belt?” and like I say the leatherman is a tool like anything else. Like my phone, my PC, like my screwdriver. If a policeman was to ask me to put it in my bag and take it home, I would. If he said don’t bring it back, I wouldn’t. This is a tool and I have every right to use it. I am not leaving it at work as it would get stolen and I am not leaving it at home as then I cannot use it as I need to.

However, if he was to simply arrest me and throw me in jail I would be very pissed off. Haven’t the police go anything better to do? I was under the impression that this was a democracy not a police state.

I mean that guy who got arrested for having a leathman in his car… What risk is that? None, it’s just the police using the system to mess with some guy they don’t like.

I wonder what the police would think if they was to come around my house. I have been in the martial arts for 14 years and have a complete collection of all sorts of weapons, some of which are rare. If they were to destroy, for example, my grandfather’s airforce baton he used to command his forces in WW2… well… I would be devastated.

Consider the following true story from all angles.

My brother was coming home from working as a chef. He is sitting at the bus shelter. In his pocket is his 3 inch folding lock knife which he has been using at work to open boxes, cut through that blue plastic binding stuff (I hate that stuff), etc etc.

He is sitting there when a Honda pulls up. Out jumps 4 black guys who run up to him and demand his phone and wallet.

My brother, bless him is only a thin fellow and not at all Rocky.

He says in his best Chingford manner, “Fuck off!”.

The gentlemen in question then pulls a can of mace form his pocket. Yes mace, and they proceed to spray it at him. He manages to put up his arms to protect himself and it goes on his coat. They close in to give him a kicking.

Now when I say kicking, I saw an attempted murder about 5 years ago just down the road from this spot, committed by 6 black guys and I went to court and saw them put away. So he would have been LUCKY to get only a kicking.

Anyway, he in desperation pulls his knife and the gentlemen finally get the idea he won’t be easily killed tonight and so they leave. I have spent a GREAT deal of effort in bringing this lad up and if I say so my mother and I have done a great job in making him an honest and honourable fellow who cares for mankind. In this spirit, and disrobing his wrecked coat, he goes to the police station 100 meters away to report that there are a small raiding party of black lads robbing people and could they go about arresting them before they kill someone or rape some poor girl.

The police stick him in a room and the robbery squad hear his tale of woe. They get to the point where he was forced to threaten the men with his knife and they promptly arrest him, throw him in the cells and tell him he’s going to jail for two years. They then refuse to go looking for the black guys.

My brother is a changed man after that all right. All his life he has wanted to be a police officer. He has wished for that and this dream has been part of the thing that has kept him on the right path as he grew up in a VERY bad neighbourhood. Now he won’t even report crimes. He has been mugged four times in Chingford but he won’t tell the police after the way they treated him.

I ask you, what the hell is wrong with this country and its guardians.

So, the law makes it illegal to carry a locking knife and doubly illegal to use one in self defence, no matter what the situation. Or is it that the police are now allowed to treat people however they damn well want?

Anyway, legally I may carry this (which I do)