Sussex offensive weapon crackdown: Two arrests as police issue amnesty bin plea

Sussex Police has asked the public to ‘help prevent someone from harm’ by disposing of offensive weapons in amnesty bins found in police stations across the county.

A spokesperson said: “A law which was passed in 2019, but not implemented until two-years later, makes it illegal to own an offensive weapon privately, even if they are just for display.”

Officers arrested two people from Brighton ‘using powers granted by this legislation’ following ‘intelligence from partner agencies’.

Police said a 65-year-old man – who was found with four-offensive weapons in a private dwelling – was arrested on suspicion of possession of an offensive weapon in private place and issued a police caution.

Meanwhile, a 59-year-old-man was arrested on suspicion of possession of an offensive weapon in a private place, possession of a firearm without a licence and attempting to import prohibited items, police said. He has been released on police bail until April 12.

Op Safety lead for Brighton and Hove, James Ward, said: “These two cases demonstrate how we are working with our partners to arrest people who are suspected to be in possession of prohibited weapons in private.

"It is important to re-emphasise that, just because you own a now prohibited weapon in private for display – with absolutely no desire or intent to cause anyone harm – it is illegal.

"If you do own a weapon which is now illegal to own privately, I would urge you to dispose of it in one of the amnesty bins located at police stations across the county.”Police said the offence ‘does not apply’ to antique weapons and ‘specific exemptions apply’.

Amnesty bins to dispose of the offensive weapons can be found in all police stations. Your nearest one can be found here.

This is the full list of offensive weapons:- Knuckleduster, and any weapon incorporating a knuckleduster;- Swordstick;- ‘Handclaw’;

- ‘Belt buckle knife’;

- ‘Push dagger’;

- ‘Hollow kubotan’;

- ‘Footclaw’;

- ‘Shuriken’, ‘shaken’ or ‘death star’, being a hard non-flexible plate having three or more sharp radiating points and designed to be thrown;

- ‘Balisong’ or ‘butterfly knife’;

- ‘Telescopic truncheon’;

- ‘Blowpipe; or ‘blow gun’;

- ‘Kusari gama’, being a length of rope, cord, wire or chain fastened at one end to a sickle;

- ‘Kyoketsu shoge’, being length of rope, cord, wire or chain fastened at one end to a hooked knife;

- ‘Manrikigusari’ or ‘kusari’, being a length of rope, cord, wire or chain fastened at each end to a hard weight or hand grip;

- Disguised knife, that is any knife which has a concealed blade or concealed sharp point and is designed to appear to be an everyday object;- Stealth knife, that is a knife or spike, which has a blade, or sharp point, made from a material that is not readily detectable by apparatus used for detecting metal and which is not designed for domestic use or for use in the processing, preparation or consumption of food or as a toy;- Baton;

- Sword with a curved blade of 50 centimetres or over in length; and for the purposes of this sub-paragraph, the length of the blade shall be the straight line distance from the top of the handle to the tip of the blade;

- ‘Zombie knife’, ‘zombie killer knife’ or ‘zombie slayer knife’, being a blade with: a cutting edge; a serrated edge; and images or words (whether on the blade or handle) that suggest that it is to be used for the purpose of violence.

- ‘Cyclone knife’ or ‘spiral knife’ being a weapon with: a handle, a blade with two or more cutting edges, each of which forms a helix, and a sharp point at the end of the blade.

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