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Prosecutors should be prepared to make submissions on whether there are particular or exceptional circumstances which would make the imposition of the minimum sentence unjust. Any court decision on whether the minimum term should be imposed must be clearly endorsed on the CPS record.

For a person charged with an offence under section 141(1A) of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 of possession of a curved sword in private to show that a)the person was a Sikh at the time the offence is alleged to have been committed and possessed the sword for the purpose only of presenting it to another person at a religious ceremony or other ceremonial event, or (b)the sword was presented to the person by a Sikh at a religious ceremony or other ceremonial event. School premises is defined as land used for the purposes of a school, excluding any land occupied solely as a dwelling by a person employed at the school; and “school” has the meaning given by section 4 of the Education Act 1996. Further education premises is defined as land used solely for the purposes of (i)an institution within the further education sector (within the meaning of section 91 of the Further and Higher Education Act 1992), or a 16 to 19 Academy (within the meaning of section 1B of the Academies Act 2010), excluding any land occupied solely as a dwelling by a person employed at the institution or the 16 to 19 Academy. Private Place

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See section 142 Criminal Justice Act 1988. Responsible Retailer Agreements / HO voluntary agreement Police and prosecutors should ensure that the court has sufficient information about the impact of knife crime offending at the sentencing hearing. Guidance on Victim Personal Statements can be found here. Guidance on Community Impact Statements can be found here. Physical harm is serious if it amounts to grievous bodily harm for the purposes of the Offences against the Person Act 1861. Section 47 of the 2019 legislation also introduced defences for a person charged with an offence under section 141(1) or (1A) of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 in respect of any conduct of the person relating to a curved sword, namely:

Offences under both the 1953 legislation and the 1988 legislation come within “ Specified Either way Offences” for the purposes of issuing a simple caution – see "Simple cautions: guidance for police and prosecutors" Youths Evidence of previous criminality may be relevant to a matter in issue between the parties, particularly if it casts an innocent explanation (advanced as “good reason”) in a different light or rebutting it entirely. Evidence showing that a defendant is a member of a gang involved in drug and gun crime is admissible to rebut a defence that guns and drugs found in, for example, the defendant’s home, were left there by others. This should be considered particularly in cases where a defendant raises a defence of “good reason” or claims that he did not in fact have the knives in his possession. See the legal guidance on Decision Making in Gang Related Offences for more information. Publications Relating to Knives – section 2(1) Knives Act 1997. This offence is aimed at the publishers of advertisements rather than those who are involved in the sale and marketing of knives.Unauthorised possession of knives and other offensive weapons in prisons – section 40CA Prison Act 1952 as added by section 78 Serious Crime Act 2015. Where details of a defence are given in interview, a defence statement or in any other way, the investigating officer and the prosecutor should consider what reasonable lines of inquiry arise from this to establish whether or not the defence is likely to be established. Adverse inferences All decisions to charge must be taken in accordance with the Code for Crown Prosecutors and the Director’s Guidance on Charging 6 th Edition. This has 2 stages: Where the allegation is giving a curved sword to another person, to show that the person’s conduct consisted of the presentation of the sword by a Sikh to another person at a religious ceremony or other ceremonial event.

Where a person uses an article offensively in a public place, the offensive use of the article is not conclusive of the question of whether he had it with him as an offensive weapon within section 1(1) PCA 1953. A person must knowingly have the item with them, with relevant considerations including the proximity between the person and the weapon, whether the weapon is immediately available to the person and the accessibility of the weapon. Having an article innocently will be converted into having the article guiltily if intent to use the article offensively is formed before the actual occasion to use violence has arisen. Once a person knowingly has an item with them, they continue to have it until they rid themselves of it. A person forgetting about an article does not negate them having it with them. Public place It does not matter what age the offender was at the commission of the first relevant offence, but they must be at least 16 years at the commission of the second offence for a minimum sentence to be imposed. Section 141(1A) of the 1988 legislation as inserted by section 46 of the 2019 legislation prohibits the possession in private or public of certain offensive weapons – the schedule of weapons can be found here. Note cyclone knives are included. Witnesses (including police officers) to offences under the 1953 legislation and s139, s139A and s139AA of the 1988 legislation are eligible for special measures by virtue of section 17(5) and Schedule 1A YJCEA. There is no need to prove the witness is vulnerable or intimidated nor is there a need to demonstrate that the measure is required so that the witness gives their best evidence. Work is currently being undertaken by the NPCC to develop guidance for schools about knife crime. Further details of this will be included in future updates of this document.

Further Reading

This document is intended to aid the understanding of issues that may arise in connection with suspected knife crime offending. It is to be read alongside the relevant police and CPS guidance, including the CPS Legal Guidance on Offensive Weapons, Knives, Bladed and Pointed Articles, and supports HM Government’s Serious Violence Strategy (April 2018). Context Minimum sentences for 'second strike' offences of possession of knives or offensive weapons came into force on 17 July 2015. The OWA has extended this to cover possession of corrosive substances. Manufacture, sale or hire, or offer for sale or hire, expose or have in their possession for the purpose of sale or hire, or lending or giving an offensive weapon to any other person – Section 141. For offences committed before 28 June 2022, the judge must impose the minimum sentence unless the court is of the opinion that there are “particular circumstances” which relate to the offence, the previous offence(s), or the offender which would make it unjust in all circumstances. Section 10 of the Act gives definitions for 'suitable for combat' and 'violent behaviour'. This will be a matter of fact for the court to determine but could include pictures or references to popular culture.

Possession of certain dangerous knives - Section 1A Restriction of Offensive Weapons Act 1959- as inserted by section 44 of OWA. More information can be found in the legal guidance on Bad Character Evidence. The decision to charge Whether a retailer has signed up to either a local or national responsible retailer agreement, and any subsequent action taken as a result e.g. ongoing training, may be useful evidence in proving the presence or absence of due diligence. Underage test purchasing of knives Possession of prohibited offensive weapons in private: Section 141(1A) as inserted by section 46 OWA.The NPCC and CPS have produced guidance on charging children and young people. This can be found here. This guidance explains the approach that should be taken in respect of 16 and 17 year olds as well as children under 16 years old. The person’s conduct was for the purpose only of making the sword available for presentation by a Sikh to another person at a religious ceremony or other ceremonial event.