Police to get powers to grab and destroy machetes and zombie knives in additional crackdown
More “zombie-style” knives and machetes will likely be banned and the police will likely be given extra powers to grab and destroy them, beneath plans introduced by the Home Office.
A brand new offence will even be launched for possessing bladed articles “with the intention to endanger life or cause fear of violence”.
The most sentence for the importation, manufacturing, possession and sale of the weapons will likely be two years, the Home Office introduced.
The authorities stated the measures, first proposed in April, will likely be legislated “when parliament allows” and after a public session has taken place.
The possession of so-called “zombie” knives, which the federal government defines as a blade with “a cutting edge, a serrated edge and images or words suggesting it is used for violence”, was made unlawful in 2016.
Under the brand new measures, the Home Office stated the definition of a zombie knife can be expanded to incorporate any bladed weapon greater than eight inches lengthy with a plain-cutting edge and sharp pointed finish that additionally has both a serrated leading edge, multiple gap within the blade or a number of sharp factors like spikes.
The authorities hopes the modifications will shut a loophole which has allowed some harmful weapons to be bought with out breaking the regulation by eradicating sure banned options.
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Recent figures revealed that the variety of deadly stabbings in England and Wales was at its highest stage since information started greater than 76 years in the past.
The Office for National Statistics stated 282 homicides had been dedicated utilizing a knife or sharp instrument within the yr to March 2022 – a 19% rise in contrast with the earlier yr and the best annual complete since information started in 1946.
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Some 51 youngsters aged between 13 and 19 had been among the many victims.
Labour’s shadow house secretary Yvette Cooper stated the newly prohibited weapons “should have been banned years ago”.
“This is the sixth time in seven years that the Conservatives have promised to outlaw zombie knives,” she stated.
“Yet even now they are still failing to close the loopholes that mean they can still be sold online. Time and again the Tories have been hopelessly weak and slow to tackle this serious and dangerous crime.”
Currently, the regulation stipulates that if police discover a machete or different authorized blade in someone’s house they don’t seem to be allowed to grab or act on it, even when they imagine the knives might be used criminally.
But police will now be given new powers to grab and destroy knives discovered on non-public premises if there are “reasonable grounds to believe the blade will be used in a serious crime”, the Home Office confirmed.
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The Sentencing Council will even be requested to contemplate amending tips for the possession of bladed articles and offensive weapons in order that these are handled extra significantly than possession of non-prohibited weapons.
The Minister stated severe violence is down by 41% since 2010, however Chris Philp says there’s ‘much more to do’.
Some machetes and similar knives can have “legitimate uses”, reminiscent of for gardening, however the Home Office warned criminals are “buying, selling and using larger bladed articles as weapons to intimidate and cause others serious harm”.
The division stated particular exemptions will likely be made for “legitimate articles” reminiscent of objects of historic significance and people which might be hand-made, as a way to keep away from destructive results on the antiques market.
Policing minister Chris Philp stated the newly-prohibited weapons “serve no other purpose but to inflate criminal egos and endanger lives” and there’s “no reason” to personal them.
“That is why we are banning these knives and making sentencing more severe, so our communities can be reassured that this violent criminality will face the punishments they deserve, and lives will be saved,” he stated.