From this week, zombie-style knives and machetes are now illegal to possess or sell as part of new measures introduced to halve knife crime in the next decade.
Zombie-style knives and machetes have this week (24 September) been added to the list of prohibited weapons in the Criminal Justice Act 1988 as the government cracks down on dangerous weapons with no legitimate purpose.
‘Zombie-style’ is the street name given to weapons which are over 8 inches in length and often have a serrated edge, spikes or more than 2 sharp points. A full list of the features of these knives can be found in the guidance for surrender of ‘zombie-style’ knives and ‘zombie-style’ machetes.
Which items are prohibited?
The weapon sometimes known as a ‘zombie-style’ knife or ‘zombie-style’ machete, being a
bladed article with—
(i) a plain cutting edge;
(ii) a sharp pointed end; and
(iii) a blade of over eight inches in length (the length of the blade being the
straight-line distance from the top of the handle to the tip of the blade),
which also has one or more of the following features
the specified features are—
(a) a serrated cutting edge (other than a serrated cutting edge of up to two inches
next to the handle);
(b) more than one hole in the blade;
(c) spikes;
(d) more than two sharp points in the blade other than —
(a) a sharp point where the angle between the edges which create the point is an
angle of at least 90 degrees (where there is a curved edge, the angle will be
measured by reference to the tangent of the curve);
(b) a sharp point on the cutting edge of the blade near the handle.
NPCC lead for knife crime, Commander Stephen Clayman said:
Tackling knife crime requires all agencies and partners working together, approaching this from a number of different perspectives. Dealing with the accessibility of deadly and intimidating weapons is key and we are doing all we can to reduce how easily they can end up in the wrong hands. Many of these ‘zombie-style’ knives and machetes are clearly designed to intimidate and cause harm, rather than serve any practical purpose, so the ban will support us by significantly stopping their manufacture and overall availability.
Our fight to remove knife crime from our communities has been further strengthened with the government’s recent announcements and I look forward to leading an end-to-end review of online knife sales. This is just part of the ongoing work and we will continue to work in close partnership with the Home Office, retailers and the third sector to find ways we can bring meaningful, long-term change that will make our streets safer for everyone.
This is just one of a package of measures being introduced by the government to halve knife crime in a decade. Earlier this month, the government announced that legislation is underway to ban ninja swords and it has also commissioned the largest ever review into how knives are sold online to identify any gaps in legislation which will prevent these being sold illegally to under-18s.
The Coalition to Tackle Knife Crime has also been launched, bringing together campaign groups, families of people who have tragically lost their lives to knife crime, young people who have been impacted and community leaders, united in their mission to save lives and make Britain a safer place for the next generation.
From 24 September, anyone caught with a zombie-style knife or machete could face time behind bars.
The ban on zombie-style knives comes at the end of a Home Office run surrender scheme which allowed members of the public to hand in these types of weapons, and those who wished to do so were eligible for compensation. This scheme ended on 23 September and anyone still in possession of these weapons should safely hand them into their local police station or local surrender bin immediately.
• 724 weapons and Zombie-style knives handed in to police in Nottinghamshire – 90 from one person
