It is an offence to carry a number of items in a public place, including knives as well as items which could be classed as “offensive weapons”. The term “offensive weapon” is defined as “any article made or adapted for use to cause injury to the person, or intended by the person having it with him for such use”. Defences that our solicitors have successfully assisted their clients with is that of religious reasons and use for work. For example Sikh men often carry a religious ornament called a Kirpan and builders may carry swiss knives in their toolkits.
Due to increased knife crime, particularly in London, possession of a knife in a public place is dealt with seriously at Court with custodial sentences often imposed. Expert mitigation can assist in not only reducing such imprisonment but also assist in obtaining suspended sentences.
An important distinction to draw between the offensive weapon offence and that of bladed article is that of the size of the blade. In order to be charged with the latter, the blade MUST be 3 inches in length. Often accused are charged with the more serious offence and our solicitors have successfully challenged this in Court where police officers have incorrectly measured blades and the CPS has had to reduce the charge to simple offensive weapon possession.
There is an increasing amount of guns circulating on the streets of England and Wales. Not only is it illegal to possess a firearm without the appropriate licence, having an article which may resemble a firearm is also an offence. Our solicitors have previously represented clients who have used “BB Guns” as imitation firearms and were subsequently charged with such offences. Such accused are usually dealt with by armed police.
