Impending machete ban.

[Unlucky4Sum]

There are many illegal weapons out there,this is just more show and look at us we are doing something and bans achieve little but active policing and sentencing does.

And what will happen is the police will try to enforce this they will be accused of racial profiling and the same govt that introduced this will  say the police are institutionally racist.

Its a game Westminster plays.

I'm less cynical.  I think the intent is good but the outcome will be less so.  To paraphrase the old adage about security systems:  you have a few people writing the law and millions of people trying to find ways round it - an unequal struggle.

For different reasons I was reading about the death of Gordon Gault today.  He was killed by one of these machetes even though the actual stab was (arguably in self defense) to his arm.  These zombie blades do a horrendous amount of tissue and artery damage.

[cromwell]

The difficulty there is proving the intent.  Making specific design features illegal is surely progress.  No one outside of museums, theatres and filming really needs a machete with a pointed end and serrated blade.

There are many illegal weapons out there,this is just more show and look at us we are doing something and bans achieve little but active policing and sentencing does.

And what will happen is the police will try to enforce this they will be accused of racial profiling and the same govt that introduced this will  say the police are institutionally racist.

Its a game Westminster plays.

[cromwell]

76? You did a post 3 years ago saying you were only 73. Can you post a link to this?

What??

[Unlucky4Sum]

There are enough laws already to cover having an offensive weapon in a public place, which can be anything, if the intent can be proven.
What we need is more police stop and searches, especially in city areas where knife crime is prevalent.
Let the police use their abilities to target the drug dealing, violent gang types and get them locked up.

The difficulty there is proving the intent.  Making specific design features illegal is surely progress.  No one outside of museums, theatres and filming really needs a machete with a pointed end and serrated blade.

[Barry]

There are enough laws already to cover having an offensive weapon in a public place, which can be anything, if the intent can be proven.
What we need is more police stop and searches, especially in city areas where knife crime is prevalent.
Let the police use their abilities to target the drug dealing, violent gang types and get them locked up.

[Unlucky4Sum]

Feck it , Im going out tomorrow and buying a Machete just in case I need one if I decide to grow a cabbage in the future . Not much chance of that as I don't like cabbage but what the hell I can leave it to the kids when I croke it as a family heirloom

Not sure about the clarity , what do you want to know Papa ? looks pretty clear to me ,dont take it out for a walk down the high street and you won't get nicked . Its just ridiculous to suggest harvesting of crops will be affected

I believe the possession of a machete for legitimate use will still be legal.  Working through the actual clauses 139-141 of the now amended Criminal Justice Act could be read either way on this but the law has been framed to outlaw just Zombie style machetes and not all machetes with a detailed description of the blade characteristics to match that.

Annex A (page 13) of this is possibly the easiest reference to read on that https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/66a26887fc8e12ac3edb04e4/2024.06.18_Public_guidance_for_the_Zombie-Style_Knives_and_Machetes_Surrender_and_Compensation_Scheme_FINAL.pdf

And this document clearly says a new ban on zombie-style knives and machetes that have no practical use 

Bad news for cabbages.

[Unlucky4Sum]

It's nothing to do with protecting people from choppy type crimes, and everything to do with the state having more power.  It should be obvious by now that the police use the law (or non-law) arbitrarily, and are biased against anyone with an anti-establishment view.  It won't stop with machetes.  It will be anything you could possibly use to defend yourself.  It won't be minorities getting arrested, it will be the "far right" who want less immigration.  Meanwhile, police thugs of the police state will continue to carry their own weapons, ready to crack you over the head if you say hurty words, or commit a thought crime.

Yes of course that must be true

Except it clearly isn't 

[Scott777]

It's nothing to do with protecting people from choppy type crimes, and everything to do with the state having more power.  It should be obvious by now that the police use the law (or non-law) arbitrarily, and are biased against anyone with an anti-establishment view.  It won't stop with machetes.  It will be anything you could possibly use to defend yourself.  It won't be minorities getting arrested, it will be the "far right" who want less immigration.  Meanwhile, police thugs of the police state will continue to carry their own weapons, ready to crack you over the head if you say hurty words, or commit a thought crime.

[Streetwalker]

You can't help it can you? I am 76, and I do not have an allotment or grow cabbages, callaloo, or cauliflowers. There is ZERO clarity as it is being announced.  Without such clarity the commercial growing of cauliflower and cabbage will have to stop. Also a machete is under the law NOT a legitimate gardening tool.

Feck it , Im going out tomorrow and buying a Machete just in case I need one if I decide to grow a cabbage in the future . Not much chance of that as I don't like cabbage but what the hell I can leave it to the kids when I croke it as a family heirloom 

Not sure about the clarity , what do you want to know Papa ? looks pretty clear to me ,dont take it out for a walk down the high street and you won't get nicked . Its just ridiculous to suggest harvesting of crops will be affected 

[Nick]

It's not worth getting upset about is it?
When you thought it couldn't get worse with the tories the toolmakers son decided to take any legitimate usage of tools away and it won't stop here.

76? You did a post 3 years ago saying you were only 73. Can you post a link to this?

[Nick]

Cabbages, cauliflower, and several others. Standard tool for the job.

Agricultural Machetes | Land Cultivation Machetes | Horticulture Machetes (springfields.co.uk)


CUTTTING CAULIFLOWER (youtube.com)

Don't need a machete to harvest any crop in the U.K., a large knife will do the job. 

[cromwell]

You can't help it can you? I am 76, and I do not have an allotment or grow cabbages, callaloo, or cauliflowers. There is ZERO clarity as it is being announced.  Without such clarity the commercial growing of cauliflower and cabbage will have to stop. Also a machete is under the law NOT a legitimate gardening tool.

It's not worth getting upset about is it?
When you thought it couldn't get worse with the tories the toolmakers son decided to take any legitimate usage of tools away and it won't stop here.

[papasmurf]

My concern is that it appears wrong that a 70-year-old, harvesting cabbages, callaloo and cauliflowers on his allotment could in future be arrested for what is currently a legit gardening tool...

You can't help it can you? I am 76, and I do not have an allotment or grow cabbages, callaloo, or cauliflowers. There is ZERO clarity as it is being announced.  Without such clarity the commercial growing of cauliflower and cabbage will have to stop. Also a machete is under the law NOT a legitimate gardening tool.

[patman post]

No sign of that thus far, no clarity at all. I have a full set of chefs knives, a bone chopping cleaver, two fish filleting knives. (Which I had a lot of hassle buying, any one would think I has asked the shop keeper for 10kilos of Semtex.)
My wife carries some of the kitchen kit to and from the village football club to cater for football matches and other events. As for machetes, during the cauliflower, cabbage picking season there are hundreds of pickers in the area using them.

Seems crystal clear to me:

Under the measures, first announced by the Prime Minister last year and laid before Parliament today, it will be illegal to possess, sell, manufacture or transport these zombie-style knives and machetes.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-law-to-ban-zombie-style-knives-and-machetes

My concern is that it appears wrong that a 70-year-old, harvesting cabbages, callaloo and cauliflowers on his allotment could in future be arrested for what is currently a legit gardening tool...

[Streetwalker]

As a rough guess I would say you are pretty safe having a machete in your house or when working on crops in the field . Swinging one about walking from West Croydon to Thornton Heath pond might ,well probably will get you nicked though .

Its another load of crap from labour though as there are already laws in place that relate to weapons ,carrying knives ect in public without good reason .What needs to be done is the enforcement of those laws along with random and regular stop and search in areas where knife crime is a problem along with targeting the groups /gangs that are carrying out these criminal often murderous acts .