So, what is an "Offensive Weapon" anyway??

I think anything is a weapon when someone references it as a weapon. If someone calls a knife a tool then they will use it right. If they call it a weapon then they are a tool themselves and will likely be the stabby type of person
 
As said, depends on his reasons for carrying it, really the only legitmate one is either being a tradesman on the way to or from a job or having borrowed it or purchased it for immediate use. however it would be common sense to have it covered as someone carrying a claw hammer is likely to, and rightly so, attract attention.
 
Nasher said:
They do say if you keep a baseball bat in your boot, have a ball as well :P

Many people keep things in their cars just in case (can't be to safe these days, despite what the law says). But it needs to be the kind of thing you would normally keep in the car to avoid being pulled up on it. Like a wrench.
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"these days"?

Violent crime is significantly lower than it was in the past. The last year has had a relatively small uptick* but it's been relatively flat for the last two years, and significantly lower than the past...

https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopula...figures-continue-to-present-a-complex-picture

*There have been certain minor increases in crime figures, but things like the Hillsborough deaths being included in this years figures, and a change in reporting make the headline crime reporting look much higher than it actually is. Which is part of the discrepancy between crime stats and the crime survey.

And as for the thread, it's a hammer. If the person had a reason to be carrying it then I see no issue. Perhaps if he's seen by the police then a few quick questions may be asked but if he's not acting threatening then whats the issue?
 
Section 1 of the Prevention of Crime Act 1953 prohibits the possession in any public place of an offensive weapon without lawful authority or excuse.

The term 'offensive weapon' is defined as: "any article made or adapted for use to causing injury to the person, or intended by the person having it with him for such use".
 
It's an inherently unclear idea. What is a non-offensive weapon? Any weapon can be used for offence. A thing that can't be used offensively isn't a weapon. Even something designed specifically for defence, like a shield, can be used as a weapon in some ways (and was - surviving medieval and renaissance material on fighting includes offensive use of shields).

It's also not about intent because merely carrying a weapon is enough to make a person guilty of the crime regardless of their intent. It's explicitly stated that they do not need to intend to use it to harm anyone else.

So what is the law actually about? The CPS page doesn't really help. As far as I can tell, there isn't a clear definition and it's left to the police to try to enforce an ill-defined law.
 
You have a glass bottle not an offensive weapon, smash it to make it sharp its an offe sive weapon.


The kaw is deliberatley vauge as if it was strict black and white then people would find loop holes by making it a grey area its hsrder to avoid
 
harry5522 said:
I think anything is a weapon when someone references it as a weapon. If someone calls a knife a tool then they will use it right. If they call it a weapon then they are a tool themselves and will likely be the stabby type of person
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The only aspect of a knife that is directly relevant to it being designed as a weapon is a guard to prevent the user's hand sliding onto the blade, but even that's far from definitive. There are plenty of historical examples of daggers without guards and a guard might be put on a tool knife for safety reasons.
 
Tefal said:
You have a glass bottle not an offensive weapon, smash it to make it sharp its an offe sive weapon.
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An intact glass bottle could be used to kill a person by using it as a club. That's about as offensive as a weapon can be.

The kaw is deliberatley vauge as if it was strict black and white then people would find loop holes by making it a grey area its hsrder to avoid
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That's true, but it also makes it harder to enforce fairly because when what's considered illegal isn't clearly defined then what's considered legal can't be clearly defined either.

It might be the least bad approach that's practical.
 
Basically anything you intend/actually use as a weapon, its all context.

For example take case in point: a 4" fixed blade knife

Case 1: teenager has it stuffed down the back of his trakkies when out on the lash of a saturday night

Case 2: old farmer has is battered scraping knife still in the pocket of his coveralls while filling up his defender in the local petrol station

Same object, only one would grab much police attention.

The same thing applies to say keeping a baseball bat in your house for self defence, unless you play baseball on a regular enough basis to justify having it easily to hand it can be counted as keeping it purely as an offensive weapon.
 
I suspect as you say it's the "least bad approach", as it means it's down to the discretion of the officers, the CPS and then if it gets that far the court, as they can take the circumstances into account.
For example I realised the other day I'd been in and out of several shops with a 4-6 inch screwdriver* in my coat pocket, as it had been used to change one of the interior bulbs in the car the evening before in freezing temperatures. I think I had a reasonable excuse for having it in my pocket (especially as I had a spare bulb in the dash, and the dead bulb in the same pocket), but I suspect someone who was known to use knives/sharp objects would have had a much harder time explaining carrying the same screwdriver.


It's like "going equipped", I had a fun time trying to explain to an American on another board why it was sometimes more sensible to have a general law that can be applied depending on circumstances rather than a hundred and one banned items with exclusions that had to be constantly updated.
From memory that discussion came about when one of the American's couldn't believe that lockpicks aren't completely illegal when a member was talking about a lock picking club (apparently they were a thing in Germany and there were some in the UK).


*My trusty old Mechano one with a bakerlight (I think) handle, it's still one of the best flat bladed ones in my tool box (the quality of the steel is good and it's an ideal size).
 
Angilion said:
An intact glass bottle could be used to kill a person by using it as a club. That's about as offensive as a weapon can be.



l.
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Yep, but if you use the bottle as a weapon like you said you'll be being charged with assult/abh/gbh.
Not possesing a weapon (we do conccurent sentencing so only the most severe crime applies)
 
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