Arguable. "Possession" is possession. In Public or anywhere else. Same reason I can't keep a gun at home. What, even when it's sticking out of a burglar? Leaving it in a place where a child could get the hands on it counts as neglect.
You cant keep a gun at home because they are PROHIBITED weapons, well, pistols are. Rifles/shot guns (not sawn off) can be held by a licence holder. In the eyes of the law, possession HAS TO BE in a public place (unless it prohibited, like some fire arms, drugs, items used for forgery, etc). In the eyes of the law, anyone over the age of 10 is legally responsible. The parents will get into trouble IF it is a PROHIBITED weapon. If it is an ornament (like most are) then they shoudlnt get into trouble themselves. Its the same if the youth used a vase to attack them with or a fire poker. However they could get into trouble for leaving a minor home alone. MATT
I think you are getting confused between a prohibited weapon and an offensive weapon (or sharpened bladed article). If i remember, the length of blade that you are allowed to carry around with you is 2.5 inches (or was it 3), any longer (and in some circumstances shorter) and you could get arrested for being in possession (in public) of a sharpened bladed article. Note, the offence doesnt say 'knife', in case someone has on them a piece of metal sharpened (or an ornamental sword). Only certain knives are prohibited, things like flick knives for instance, and i think survival (Rambo style) knives are too, now. Prohibited (in law) means that you are not allowed to have them ANYWHERE, including a drawer in your home, the are prohibited from being owned. Other knives are ok to own, however you would need a good excuse to be carrying one around with you.
I probably already know the answer to this question but I want to be sure. Do the laws of your country apply only to 'sharpened metal' or all edged weapons like frequent flier knives made of Lexan etc? We had a big debate about this after 9/11. Our local government was pushing hard to classify edged weapons that can't be detected by a magnetometer the same as gravity knives or switch blades (prohibited weapons except to law enforcement/ military). It ended up going nowhere. Here in most states a person can own a Katana and even walk around on the street with it as long as it is not concealed and they are not threatening anyone with it. The person would likely get a lot of unwanted attention from law enforcement but their actions would be legal. In Alaska we have the option of arresting a person for weapons misconduct/ carrying a concealed weapon if the person is found carrying a fixed bladed knife with a blade over 3 inches in length. You can carry an “ordinary folding pocket knife” of any type or length concealed as long as the blade folds into the handle. I own a vaquero knife http://www.knivesplus.com/CS-21GNSC-Cold-Steel.HTMLthat has a 6 inch razor sharp blade that can cut through 4 x 1 inch free hanging manila ropes with one slice and it is perfectly legal to carry concealed.
That's right and for those who claim that this makes Florida a free-for-all state I remind them that it's illegal in Florida to fart loudly in public after 6 PM on Tuesdays and Thursdays. You have been warned.
I think the wording is 'sharpened or bladed article', so yes, it doesnt have to be made out of metal. If its perceived by the officer to be used for any wrong doing then they can arrest. A wooden stick sharpened to a point could also fall into the catagory. I think the original roots for this offence was designed for football matches. Sometimes members of the crowd would sharpen the edges around coins, and throw them at people, causing injury. If they were found to be in possession of these coins, the police couldnt do anything, as there were no offences. So they brought this offence out. Folding pocket knives can only have a blade of upto 3" (or 2.5", i cant remember) that can lock. Any longer and they cannot lock. I may have got this slightly wrong, but its somewhere along those lines. Thats a nice knife you have there. I wouldnt mind one myself, if it were legal :gape: . MATT
As an LEO you are not allowed to possess weapons outside of what civilians are allowed to own? Here as in most police dept. that I'm aware of an officer can purchase any Class 3 weapons (select fire, short barrels, suppressed etc) for personal use as long as they have an approval letter from their chief or supervisor on department letterhead. To buy restricted edged weapons all I ever needed was my badge and viola. I never got into the whole select fire thing as I played with those plenty in the military. Short barreled and suppressed weapons never did anything for me either. I used to train with the local state and municipal special police units and got to shoot plenty of that type of stuff. I do like knives and swords though. The only thing I purchased not available to civilians legally was a gravity knife. I do wish now that I had bought an MP5-PDW when I had the chance.
If this is sarcasim, it went right by me. I stated earlier that if you break into my house I can legally kill you and now if you "fart in my general direction" I may also shoot you. Anyone get the reference?
The only weapons we can use are, extendable batton (hasp), side handled batton (PR24), and CS spray (some forces use other types of spray), unless you are on a specialised unit like fire arms, who use various types of gun, inlcuding taser. In Sept this year, the government are going to equip 10 forces with tasers for their front line officers, for a trial period. My force is one of those who are one of the ten.
Well be glad he wasn't in nystate. He would have been tried for attempted manslaughter with a weapon. Yeah nystate if someone comes in your house and falls and injures themselves you can get sued for it. If you kill someone on your land for trespassing you will get 25-life in jail for manslaughter. Gotta love nystate and there ****ed up laws.
Thats nothing new for the UK either. Trespass isn't even a criminal matter, and there is nothing the police can do about it, unless the person has intent to commit a crime. In the UK you can take/use 'reasonable' measures to protect yourself, and if the person dies, then yes, you will be arrested (more than likely) for murder. There has been cases of people sueing for hurting themselves whilst breaking in. And you are certainly NOT allowed to leave any kind of traps. It is a f***ed up law.
Most of our city and state police officers here carry a sidearm, O/C spray, a collabsible baton (ASP, Manandock etc.) and a Taser. They also keep either a shotgun and or a carbine in their patrol vehicle. As for the Taser you are blessed to be able to carry it. You will love the Taser. As part of your training there are you required to be shocked by the Taser before you can carry it? We had to be zapped as part of our training. Not fun in of itself but it is funny to watch. Make sure that you receive training on how criminals defeat the Taser (there are many ways) and how to prevent that from happening. One of our recruits got hit in the old sack by one of the barbs and had to have medics come and take it out. I have video of my Taser training class. Maybe I'll upload it to you sometime. You'll laugh your ass off.