Offensive Weapons Act 1996

Last revised by LocalRoot - 22 Jun 2026, 07:07

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The Offensive Weapons Act 1996 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom dealing with knives, bladed and sharply pointed articles, offensive weapons, school premises, and the sale of knives. It amended earlier legislation rather than creating a single self-contained weapons code.

The Act is important because it strengthened penalties and inserted school-premises offences into the Criminal Justice Act 1988.

Purpose

The Act responded to concern about knives and offensive weapons in public and around schools. Its main approach was to amend existing statutes, including the Prevention of Crime Act 1953 and the Criminal Justice Act 1988.

Later legislation, including the Offensive Weapons Act 2019, has changed parts of the wider weapons law framework. The 1996 Act remains historically and legally important because several current provisions trace back to it.

Increased Penalties

Section 2 increased the maximum penalty for the main public-place offensive weapon offence under section 1 of the Prevention of Crime Act 1953.

Section 3 dealt with penalties for having a bladed or sharply pointed article in a public place under section 139 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988. Later legislation has since altered the sentencing framework again, but the 1996 Act was a key step in treating public knife and weapon possession more seriously.

School Premises

Section 4 inserted section 139A into the Criminal Justice Act 1988. This created offences of having certain articles on school premises.

Section 139A covers:

Having a bladed or sharply pointed article to which section 139 applies on school premises.
Having an offensive weapon on school premises.

The section includes defences based on good reason or lawful authority. Examples listed in the legislation include use at work, educational purposes, religious reasons, and national costume.

Police Search Powers at Schools

The 1996 Act also inserted section 139B into the Criminal Justice Act 1988. This gives police powers, where the statutory grounds are met, to enter and search school premises and persons on those premises for relevant bladed articles and offensive weapons.

The power is tied to suspected offences under section 139A. It is not a general power to search a school for any reason.

Sale of Knives

Section 6 inserted section 141A into the Criminal Justice Act 1988, creating an offence of selling knives and certain bladed or sharply pointed articles to persons under the statutory age.

The age threshold has since changed. Modern law generally refers to under-18 sale restrictions for knives and similar articles. The 1996 Act is still part of the history of those controls.

Relationship With Later Law

The Offensive Weapons Act 2019 expanded the law further. It added controls relating to corrosive products, remote sales and delivery of bladed products, possession of certain prohibited weapons in private, and offences on further education premises.

The result is a layered framework. The 1996 Act should be read alongside the Prevention of Crime Act 1953, the Criminal Justice Act 1988, the Restriction of Offensive Weapons Act 1959, the Offensive Weapons Act 2019, and statutory orders concerning prohibited weapons.

Practical Examples

Knife at School

A pupil brings a kitchen knife onto school premises without good reason. Section 139A may be relevant because the location is school premises and the article is bladed.

Religious Article

A person has an article on school premises for a genuine religious reason. The statutory defence may be relevant, depending on the facts.

Shop Sale

A retailer sells a knife to a person under the statutory age. The modern under-18 restrictions and due diligence defence are likely to be central to the analysis.

References

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