Nottinghamshire Police is cracking down on people hiding illegal knives and other offensive weapons inside their houses.
Throwing stars, zombie knives and knuckledusters are among the items now banned from being kept privately or sold in the United Kingdom.
Collectors of these types of weapons – all of which are illegal to carry in public – could now face a prison sentence if they’re caught harbouring them in their homes.
Nottinghamshire Police’s two dedicated knife crime teams, covering the city and county, have seized 22 of these items from a private place since the Offensive Weapons Act came into force on 14 July 2021.
Friction lock batons, disguised knives, push daggers, knuckledusters and curved swords have all been seized by officers since then, with many owners claiming to have had no idea about the change to the law.
With it now being more than a year since the legislation came into effect, officers have reminded owners of these weapons that claiming ignorance is no excuse and could well land them before the courts.
Sergeant Matt Daley, of Nottinghamshire Police’s city knife crime team, said: “Our team actually made the first arrest in the whole country for this offence on the day the law came in when we discovered a friction lock baton.
“The reality is when you bring in a new piece of legislation, people aren’t immediately aware of it.
“It’s safe to say people are aware you can’t carry these weapons outside though, so people should now start to realise you can’t keep them in your home either.
“It has become more and more advertised this is now an offence, so there is no excuse for people claiming ignorance and this won’t be a defence in court.”
Nottinghamshire Police is one of a handful of forces to have dedicated knife crime teams, with the city and county teams being set up at the end of 2016 and start of 2021 respectively.
Working in pairs, officers from the teams run their own ‘mini control room’ using a computer inside the squad car while out on patrol to target anyone who could be carrying a knife or be involved with drugs or other illegal activity.
This proactive way of working led to 174 knives being seized by the teams during nearly 1,700 stop and searches last year, with some offensive weapons also later being found in people’s homes.
“A lot of the knives we discover and take off the streets aren’t zombie knives or samurai swords but are instead mostly kitchen or craft knives because they are so readily available to people,” said Sgt Daley.
“We’ve never gone into a house looking specifically for an offensive weapon but will have instead stumbled across it, for want of a better phrase, after attending an address when someone has been arrested for something else like possession with intent to supply drugs.
“This type of offending can often paint a picture, in that drug dealers might be more likely to have these weapons inside their homes to protect their commodity, compared to someone else.
“Tackling knife crime is a year-round task for us. We don’t just focus on this for two weeks a year as part of Operation Sceptre.
“We’re out looking all the time – for 52 weeks of the year – so if you carry a knife in our communities, there is a high chance you’ll get stopped and get a custodial sentence.
“If you decide to walk out the house carrying a blade or have a prohibited weapon in your home, you’re just spinning the roulette wheel really.”
Superintendent Kathryn Craner, the force’s knife crime lead, added: “Tackling knife crime is and always will be a key priority for us as a force, due to the devastating impact we know it can have on people’s lives.
“It’s so important we continue to carry out proactive work like that produced by our knife crime teams each day, so that we’re always one step ahead of anyone thinking of carrying knives.
“Having this visible presence on the streets can have a real impact in helping to deter this type of criminality, while also allowing us to rapidly respond to any offences that take place.
“These stop searches and arrests have also led to offensive weapons, like knuckledusters and curved swords, being discovered in people’s homes by our officers.
“It should go without saying but these types of weapons are incredibly dangerous, and due to the change in the law, they’re also now illegal for anyone to keep them, even in a private place.
“Anyone who has these items needs to hand them into the police straight away, either by calling 101 or leaving them in an amnesty bin at a police station during the next Operation Sceptre week of action on 14-20 November 2022.
“Doing this won’t lead to anyone getting in trouble – on the contrary, it will help stop this from happening.
“Every knife handed in to us is one less dangerous weapon that can be used to cause serious harm or injury – or potentially result in someone’s life being lost.”
Anyone with information on knife crime in their local community is urged to call Nottinghamshire Police on 101, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. In an emergency, always dial 999.
