Knives and offensive weapons to be banned from homes
Possession of knives or an offensive weapon is an offence if it is in public and without lawful authority or reasonable excuse. A weapon can be offensive as a matter of course (it is made for use of causing injury), adapted for such a purpose, or not adapted but carried with the intention of causing injury.
One of the key elements of the offence is that the weapon is carried in public, rather than being possessed in private, indoors. That is now not the case in respect of certain weapons.
The weapons that are banned in public by the Criminal Justice Act 1988 are now banned in private. This means that weapons such as zombie knives, shuriken, death stars and knuckle dusters can no longer be kept in your home. The ban also covers cyclone knives, spiral knives and rapid-fire rifles.
A new legal definition now covers flick knives, they have been unlawful since 1959, but now more knives will be covered. The definition is now:
“any knife which has a blade which opens automatically –
(i) from the closed position to the fully opened position, or
(ii) from a partially opened position to the fully opened position,
by manual pressure applied to a button, spring or other device in or attached to the knife, and which is sometimes known as a “flick knife” or “flick gun”; or
any knife which has a blade which is released from the handle or sheath thereof by the force of gravity or the application of centrifugal force and which, when released, is locked in place by means of a button, spring, lever, or other device, sometimes known as a gravity knife.”
The offence of unlawfully possessing a firearm is covered by section 54 of the Offensive Weapons Act 2019. It includes any rifle with a chamber from which empty cartridge cases are extracted using energy from propellant gas. The offence carries up to ten years imprisonment. The offence of possessing other weapons covered by the new ban carries up to six months imprisonment.
From December 2020 to March 2021, the government ran a scheme to allow the surrender of any of these weapons and claim compensation for them. During that time, 14,965 knives, 1,133 rapid-fire firearms and 32,000 ancillary items were surrendered, with 829 claims for compensation processed.
With this ban coming into force, the government has also issued a reminder about upcoming changes to the legal definition of “antique firearm”. In March, the Antique Firearms Regulations 2021 provided a legal definition for the first time. According to the government, the aim was to prevent the exploitation of a lack of clarity in law to gain possession of such weapons for use in crime. The definition is a firearm manufactured before 1st September 1939.
As a result of these regulations, owners have until 22nd September 2021 to apply to the police for a firearms certificate to allow legal possession. If you do not want to apply for a firearms certificate, the same date applies for the surrender, sale or other disposal of the firearm.
How can we help?
If you need specialist advice in relation to any criminal investigation or prosecution, from the initial investigation through to court proceedings, please get in touch. Call John Howey on 020 7388 1658 or email jhowey@jfhlaw.co.uk. Let us help.
[Image credit: “knives” by kyle.l.marsh is licensed under CC BY 2.0 ] Read More
Knife Crime Prevention Order; what is it?
On the 5th July 2021, the Knife Crime Prevention Order provisions of the Offensive Weapons Act 2019 came into force in specific areas for a period of 14 months. The area in question is the “metropolitan police district”, which consists of Greater London, excluding the City of London, the Inner Temple and the Middle Temple.
The sections allow the making of a knife crime prevention order other than on conviction. Three conditions must be met:
- an application has been made in accordance with section 15;
- the court is satisfied that on at least two occasions, the defendant had a bladed article with them without good reason or lawful authority in a public place or school or further education premises;
- the court must think it is necessary to make the order to protect the public from the risk of harm involving a bladed article, to protect any particular members of the public or to prevent the defendant from committing an offence involving a bladed article.
Section 15 sets out the requirements for the order. The application can be made by the police for the area where the defendant lives or is intending to go. When the application is made for a person under the age of 18, the youth offending team must be consulted.
Orders upon conviction
A knife crime prevention order can also be made upon conviction under section 19. This section applies when a person over the age of 12 is convicted of an offence, and the court dealing with him is satisfied the offence is a relevant offence. The same three conditions apply when an application is made for an order without conviction, other than an application made by the prosecution rather than under section 15. Additionally, an order can only be made if it is on top of a sentence imposed for an offence or a conditional discharge. A relevant offence is one which involves violence, a bladed article was used by the defendant, or another, in the commission of the offence, or the defendant or another person who committed the offence was in possession of a bladed article at the time.
Section 20 requires the prosecution to consult the youth offending team before making an application under section 19, where the offender is under the age of 18.
An order may be reviewed periodically, the defendant having to attend court for it to take place. If the order is longer than a year, it has to be reviewed. Where the order is less than a year, it must be reviewed within the last four weeks. At the review, consideration will be given to whether the order should be varied or discharged.
An order can be varied by imposing additional prohibitions or requirements. A variation can only occur if it is necessary to protect the public (or any particular members of the public) from the risk of harm or prevent the defendant from committing an offence involving a bladed article.
Appeal against an order
It is possible to appeal against the making of an order to the Crown Court. A person who applies for an order under section 14 (otherwise than on conviction) may appeal to the Crown Court against a refusal to make the order. An appeal can also be made against a refusal to vary, renew or discharge the order.
Breach of an order can lead to imprisonment of up to two years. As well as prohibitions, the orders can impose positive requirements such as attendance on drug rehabilitation programmes, educational courses and relationship counselling. The intent is for the order to be preventative rather than a punishment, hence the positive requirements. Attention should be paid, therefore, to tailoring the requirements to the needs of the individual.
Terms of the order
Examples of prohibitions could be non-association with named individuals, exclusion zones, and non-participation in specified activities. Care must be taken to ensure that prohibitions or requirements do not conflict with a defendant’s religious beliefs or work/educational commitments.
Orders last for a minimum of six months to a maximum of two years.
This pilot of the orders runs across London for 14 months; the government has already stated its intention to roll out the orders across England and Wales once the pilot has ended.
How can we help?
We are specialists in knife crime law. If you need specialist advice in relation to any criminal investigation or prosecution, from the initial investigation through to court proceedings, please get in touch. Call John Howey on 020 7388 1658 or email jhowey@jfhlaw.co.uk. Let us help.
[Image credit: “Black Widow kit knife” by CapCase is licensed under CC BY 2.0 ] Read More