Remember that slippery slope of continual government regulation followed by overreach by always justifying “we just need to do a little more and then our plans will work” TTAG wrote about the other day? Well, if you don’t believe in it, just take a look at what’s playing out in the United Kingdom.
As knife crime surges in the U.K., the government has launched an amnesty and compensation scheme targeting “zombie-style” knives and machetes, urging citizens to turn in these newly banned weapons before facing potential legal repercussions. This initiative, which began last week and runs until September 23, 2024, marks the latest in a series of increasingly restrictive measures aimed at curbing violent crime in a country where the possession of firearms is already heavily regulated.
The move, spearheaded by the Home Office, adds these “zombie-style” weapons—often characterized by their aggressive appearance and association with fictionalized violence i.e., zombie movies like “The Walking Dead”—to the growing list of prohibited items in the U.K., including butterfly knives, Samurai swords and push daggers. According to the government, these knives serve no legitimate purpose and are primarily used to intimidate or inflict harm. (Nice of them to decide for their citizens including collectors what is legitimate and what isn’t.)
This latest British policy is yet another example of an overreaching government stripping away individual rights under the guise of public safety. The idea that citizens are now being asked to surrender not just their firearms, but also their knives, seems to push the boundaries of what many Americans would readily consider reasonable.
Critics argue that such measures do little to address the root causes of violence and instead penalize law-abiding citizens who possess these items legally. The scheme allows for compensation if proof of purchase can be provided, with owners receiving up to £30 for three or more knives. However, those without receipts will receive a mere £10 per blade—a paltry sum that some suggest is more insulting than incentivizing.
Commander Stephen Clayman of the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) defended the move, stating, “Many of these ‘zombie-style’ knives and machetes are clearly designed to intimidate and cause harm, rather than serve any practical purpose, so the ban will support us by significantly reducing their availability.” “Us” being the police and officials of course. Clayman didn’t even hide the government’s motives actually calling it a “scheme” even as he urged citizens “to do the right thing and surrender it.”
“To be clear, from September 24 you will be liable to arrest and prosecution if found with such a weapon. If you don’t wish to take part in or are not eligible for the compensation scheme you can surrender any knives or weapons at a suitable knife bin which are readily available across the country,” he told the Daily Mail. The scheme is, those who turn in a knife and have a receipt or proof of purchase to show evidence of the knife’s value, the will receive the full value of the blade. Of course, how many people keep receipts for everything they buy, and the government knows this. Lacking any proof of value, the government will pay those who turn in their knife a mere 10 pounds. But here’s the catch, you have to turn in at least three of them to get the compensation and then you only get paid 30 pounds. One knife, you don’t get anything. More than three knives, you still only get paid for three. “Scheme” is an understatement.
Policing Minister Dame Diana Johnson also urged the public to “do the right thing” to make streets safer, claiming that “too many people have access to weapons that can lead to devastating, life-changing consequences.” Yet, for those who value their right to self-defense, the notion that the government can dictate what tools one may or may not possess is indeed a slippery slope. But the “dame” made no pretense about this is where it ends.
“There is no legitimate need for a weapon of this kind to be in our homes or on our streets,” she told the Daily Mail. “That is why we will continue to make sure the tightest restrictions are in place to limit the availability of these lethal weapons. Implementing a ban on zombie-style knives is just the first step in our ambitious, dedicated plan to halve knife crime within a decade, and will closely be followed by making ninja swords illegal. It is absolutely crucial that members of the public come forward and safely hand in these weapons.”
“Scheme,” “first step,” “our ambitious, dedicated plan” to disarm and ruthlessly rule the British subjects is more like it. It is “absolutely crucial” that subjects “safely hand in these weapons,” or is it absolutely crucial that leaders over there quite stomping on the human rights of their citizens and enforce criminal laws such as murder, assault, rape and more to protect them from crime rates that have steadily risen since severe gun restrictions were posed on the citizenry in the late 1990s. In fact, gun control in a number of English countries has been an epic fail and in the U.K. in particular, because guns aren’t as readily available, knife crimes have soared. Criminals aren’t going to stop committing crimes, they will simply use whatever tool is at hand. Innocent victims will continue to be, well, victims, because they will follow the law and have no way to protect themselves.
The specter of “knife control” following the near-total ban on guns in the U.K. serves as a cautionary tale for Americans who worry that similar policies could one day cross the Atlantic. If the British government can justify the confiscation of knives today, what might they seek to outlaw tomorrow? And if such policies are enacted in the United States, where could that eventually lead for our citizens? I think the answer from all this is clear.
Uhhh, really? Didn’t I read a story where there were Izzlamyk newcomers walking around London waving machetes and the Bobbies were more interested in arresting English citizens for protesting their presence? Bizzaro world indeed.
Up next, an amnesty program for cricket bats.
Sid,
While I was reading this article I also thought of “cricket” bats and came to post a similar sentiment.
I have a hard time deciding which is more devastating: a serious bludgeon or a serious knife? Both are silent and a single strike from either can immediately incapacitate and impart a fatal wound.
If the U.K. has decided to ban “zombie” knives, they better ban common kitchen chef and meat carving knives as well because those are every bit as lethal as a “zombie” knife.
That’s a complex question, largely dependent on skill.
I think between two average people, the serious bludgeon is going to win most times based on reach and parrying ability.
A stab or slash to the right place is probably more deadly, whereas a bludgeon is probably more likely to slow / stop an attack without being as sensitive to hit placement, clothing, edge alignment, etc.
A knife is theoretically much more concealable, but some serious bludgeons could hide in plain sight. Conversely, if I have room for a “serious bludgeon” that doesn’t blend in, I also have room for a big blade that has all the advantages of both.
Regarding your other comment, as you already alluded in this one, there’s no real need to make a knife because kitchen knives, chisels, saws, etc. are unrestricted. Even in Japan, where guns are almost impossible to get and swords etc. are heavily restricted, you can get garden tools (several of which are identical to their martial arts counterparts) cheaply and with no restrictions. A kama in particular answers your “which is more devastating?” question with a resounding “Hai!”
Fun fact: The law will not be applied to roving gangs of muslims and the piles of weapons inside britis mosques will be blatantly overlooked
But if you are Big Baz from Yorkshire and you say mean things about the people invading your country on X you can expect years in the gaol
Bingo
Hacking people is not as fun as it was when victims fought back,but that is offset by an increase the in kill ratio.
“Critics argue that such measures do little to address the root causes of violence and instead penalize law-abiding citizens who possess these items legally.”
Well, yeah. Proponents of these types of measures see this as a feature, not a bug.
Whether we are talking about knives in the UK or guns in the US, the simple fact of the matter is that the overwhelming majority of the objects are not involved in crime and the overwhelming majority of the object owners are not violent. Taking any sort of weapon away from a non-violent person does nothing to decrease violence because they were not committing any violence anyway. Why this concept is so hard for the control freaks to grasp is beyond me. I suppose some of them just want more control and are willing to anything to get it – why, I don’t know. Some, at least some I have talked/argued with, however, seem to honestly believe that if they take a weapon away from me that, somehow, someone who is not me will be less likely to commit a crime with a weapon that is not mine. Logic is, apparently, a bit lacking in that crowd.
” Implementing a ban on zombie-style knives is just the first step in our ambitious, dedicated plan to halve knife crime within a decade …”
I haven’t bothered to look at exactly what the rates of “knife crime” are in the UK but, to halve it by taking away knives will require taking nearly all the knives. I have made this point before about gun crime in the US. There are, on the order of 100,000 to 200,000 ish gun crimes (including non-violent ones) in the US each year. There are on the order of 400,000,000 or more guns in the country. To stop half (call it 100,000) of the gun crimes by getting rid of guns you have to reduce 400,000,000 to a number less than 100,000 – that means getting rid of 399,900,000 guns (and never allowing another to be made). 399,900,000/400,000,000 = .99975 = 99.975%. So, to reduce gun-crime by restricting guns means you have to get rid of near-as-damnit all the guns. Still won’t stop the violence, it just would mean less of it took place with a gun.
How do you confiscate 99.975% of 400,000,000 guns? Well, you don’t, kinda the point of having them in the first place.
Q: What would be different in the UK today if they had been defeated by Germany?
A: The language and the flag.
WW2 was like the US Civil War, one side won the war, the other side won the peace.
They’ve been “coming after knives” for decades now.
Must be 18 to buy PLASTIC cutlery including spoons not just knives:
https://nannyknowsbest.blogspot.com/2009/05/nanny-bans-plastic-cutlery.html
Dull pointed knives to tackle domestic violence:
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/14/world/europe/domestic-abuse-blunt-knives.html
UK cutlery company selling no-tip knives:
https://globalnews.ca/news/6419527/square-no-tip-knives-uk-viners/
The “going after knives” began in the 70’s, promptly proved a pointless and costly restriction of normal folks freedom and has been simmering on the warming burner of government stupidity ever since.
People in prisons make knives. If you can’t stop people in prison from making knives, what in your right mind things you’re going to stop someone who’s not in prison from making knives? They have things like angle grinders, and steel stock at hardware stores.
Andrew Lias,
I would wager that 99.9% of our nation’s population has no idea how easy it is to make a knife. As you stated, all you need is a piece of steel flat stock and an angle grinder–both of which are available at a store in almost every city and town in the United States. For reference I recently saw a modest angle grinder on clearance for less than $20 at a local store. That same store sells a 36-inch long piece of steel flat stock for about $9 (which is long enough to make at least three knives). So, for less than $30 and one or two hours of your time, you can make a wicked knife and have enough leftovers for two more. Similarly, for that same $29 and maybe three or four hours of your time, you can make a serviceable short sword from that flat piece of metal.
And if you were really motivated, you could use almost any straight and thin piece of steel and a metal file, although an angle grinder will speed up the process significantly compared to a metal file.
“And if you were really motivated, you could use almost any straight and thin piece of steel and a metal file, although an angle grinder will speed up the process significantly compared to a metal file.”
You’re instructing people how to build a knife/sword. Mmmm, I’m telling your parents.
The Brits, like us, don’t want to tackle the real problem which is their ridiculous immigration policy! They thereby create the problem for which they now claim a solution! It is easier to go after law abiding people because the police don’t have to do anything!!! Neither does the government! Allowing illegal into the country only brings with it crime and violence as the majority of these illegals don’t bring any positive skills to the country they invade and are only after freebies which encourages even more illegals to immigrate. This is how the government gets rid of an electorate population that doesn’t do as they are told! You substitute illegals for natural born and they you go!!
I took an angle grinder to my army surplus folding shovel. Now the handle is so sharp I nearly cut my fingers off while trying to bury my campfire.
And here I thought the UK had been clamping down on knife ownership for the last 25 years.
Perhaps the problem is those with evil intentions?
Yes, while “zombie knives” may be a recent addition, they’ve had oppressive knife restrictions for years, including the reassuring
“A court will decide if you’ve got a good reason to carry a knife or a weapon if you’re charged with carrying it illegally.”
https://www.gov.uk/buying-carrying-knives#:~:text=The%20maximum%20penalty%20for%20an,an%20unlimited%20fine%20or%20both.
oi m8, you gotta loicense for ye butter knoife?
Well, that should work perfectly then.
They had better start with all the “Royal” castles and house with their stockpile of edged weapons be it mounted to wall or attached to suits of armour. Clear out the Tower of London too. Silly brit wankers have disarmed their Subjects on several continents in the past while maintaining armed supremacy for themselves.
Hell, just last weekbrits threatened to arrest people in foreign countries for exercising their freeom of speech rights. Maybe they will threaten to arrest U.S. Citizens for exercising our 2A Rights next. Lol!!!
Let ’em try. I have a bit of respect for the Brits who were our allies in the Mideast. Just a bit. BTW there’s been an uptick in knife attacks in Chiraq. Oh and 4 people were murdered(shot) in the early morning(5:30AM) on the EL. All asleep they said. Any one dumb enough to sleep on public transportation can’t be saved. I worked in the eighties north of Chicago managing a warehouse 1-9AM. Drove on the expressways. Didn’t even drink coffee then. I used to see idiots sleeping getting robbed. I intervened at my peril more than once🙄
Of course it isn’t necessary to point out that the hoards of Islamic, pedophile immigrants that Stammer and his ilk have so eagerly imported will not be required to turn in their knives. Prosecuting these folks would constitute a hate crime. If ever there was a people who deserved genocide it is the British along with the rest of the Eurotrash.
Way back in 2000 the Home Secretary floated the idea of requiring the registration and serial numbers for kitchen knives.
Does the wound imprint the serial number in the victim? Makes as much sense as microstamping.
What happens when a zombie knife meets a ghost gun?
The ghost gun usually wins.
INSANE Bureaucrats MOVE Against Machine Guns?! 6 Years Prison? Wisconsin Full Automatics.
Well it was bound to happen that knives would be next. Bats, hammers, a piece of pipe etc etc etc.
I would say that we are watching the UK devolve into anarchy. Soon they will arm the police and shoot the ‘lawbreakers’ (definition of such TBD).
The carrying of knives or sharp edged weapons for other than work purposes has been against the law in England for over a decade. I used to watch a real life cop show out of England called Traffic Cops. They arrested every person that had a knife that obviously wasn’t for working and confiscated others until the person could prove it was for work. Everything from box cutters and small pockets knives to hatchet and axes. They also arrested people with baseball and cricket bats, clubs, hammers and steel pipes which are also considered lethal weapons if you can’t prove they are work related.
This is only temporary. Once the Islamic folks get to majority statis they’ll start reversing these things. Oh! One more thing, DHS, Customs!!! Please take Great Britain off preferred in-bound traveler status.