Bladed articles are articles with a blade or sharp point. In England and Wales, the main public-place offence is section 139 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988, which makes it an offence to have an article with a blade or point in a public place without good reason or lawful authority.
The offence is separate from the law on offensive weapons. A bladed article offence does not require proof that the person meant to use the item to injure anyone.
Legal Test
Section 139 applies to any article which has a blade or is sharply pointed, except a folding pocket knife. A folding pocket knife is only outside the offence if the cutting edge of its blade does not exceed 3 inches.
The exception is narrow. A lock knife is generally not treated as a folding pocket knife for this purpose because the blade locks open and is not immediately foldable at all times.
Examples that may fall within section 139 include:
- Kitchen knives.
- Stanley knives and craft knives.
- Lock knives.
- Fixed-blade knives.
- Screwdrivers or other sharply pointed articles, depending on their form and the facts.
- A folding pocket knife with a cutting edge over 3 inches.
Public Place
For section 139, a public place includes any place to which the public have access at the material time, whether access is free or paid. Streets, shops, public transport, stations, pubs, clubs, schools open to the public for events, and public areas of private premises may all be public places depending on the facts.
Private homes are not usually public places, but other offences can apply in private. Prohibited weapons, threatening behaviour, domestic violence, and assault offences are not avoided simply because conduct happens indoors.
Good Reason or Lawful Authority
It is a defence to prove good reason or lawful authority for having the article in public. Section 139 gives examples including:
- Use at work.
- Religious reasons.
- National costume.
Those are not the only possible good reasons. Other examples may include taking knives to a lawful camping trip, transporting a newly bought kitchen knife home, taking tools directly to a job, moving house, taking a knife to be repaired, or carrying equipment for a lawful sport or performance.
The reason must fit the circumstances. A chef with wrapped knives travelling directly between home and work is different from the same knives being carried around late at night after drinking. A tradesperson with a Stanley knife at work is different from leaving it in a coat pocket for an unrelated night out.
Difference from Offensive Weapons
The bladed article offence is about having the article in public without good reason or lawful authority. It does not require a plan to attack someone.
The offensive weapon offence is about the nature, adaptation, or intended use of the article. An ordinary kitchen knife in public may be a bladed article. It becomes an offensive weapon if the evidence shows it was carried for causing injury.
Folding Pocket Knives
A small folding non-locking pocket knife with a cutting edge of 3 inches or less is generally outside section 139. That does not make it risk-free in every situation. If the person carries it for use as a weapon, threatens someone with it, takes it into a restricted venue, or has it in a context covered by another law, other offences may apply.
The safest practical distinction is:
- Small, folding, non-locking blade of 3 inches or less: usually outside section 139.
- Locking blade, fixed blade, or cutting edge over 3 inches: section 139 can apply unless there is good reason or lawful authority.
- Any blade carried for violence: may also be an offensive weapon.
Practical Examples
Kitchen Knife Bought from a Shop
A person buys a kitchen knife, keeps it packaged, travels directly home, and has a receipt. That may be a good reason. Keeping the same knife loose in a bag for several days afterwards is harder to explain.
Work Knife
A carpet fitter carries a Stanley knife between jobs. That can be a good reason where the timing, route, and work context support it. Carrying it into a pub afterwards may remove the work connection.
Folding Pocket Knife
A person has a small folding non-locking pocket knife with a blade under 3 inches for ordinary tasks. Section 139 will usually not apply. If the person says it is carried for defence or produces it in a confrontation, the offensive weapon analysis may become relevant.
Tactical Clothing and a Lawful Knife
Wearing tactical clothing, a face covering, or a ballistic vest does not automatically make a lawful pocket knife illegal. Appearance may explain why police became suspicious, but suspicion is not the same as proof of the offence.
School and Further Education Premises
Separate offences apply to knives and offensive weapons on school premises and further education premises. The rules are stricter because of the setting. A person who may have a good reason in a workplace or campsite may not have the same reason in a school or college.
See Also
- Folding pocket knife
- Offensive weapon
- Criminal Justice Act 1988
- Offensive Weapons Act 2019
- Reasonable force
References
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