An article from The Guardian
Longer jail terms likely for knife and acid possession. New sentencing guidelines for England and Wales list acid as dangerous weapon for first time.
Adults convicted of possessing a knife or acid for use as an offensive weapon in public are likely to face longer prison terms when new sentencing guidelines for judges in England and Wales are introduced.
Recommendations by the Sentencing Council published on Thursday state that the starting point for a judge assessing punishment for anyone over 18 caught with a “bladed article” in a public place should be six months in jail. For young people, the starting point is four months.
Anyone over who has a “bladed article” goes to jail. This is a ban on mere possession of a tool.
Those convicted of a second possession offence are subject to statutory minimum terms, meaning that in most circumstances they will go to prison. Offenders who make threats with knives or highly dangerous weapons will always receive sentences longer than six months.
See, if threatening someone with a knife carries a stiffer penalty, proving that just having one on your person is enough to get sent to jail for four to six months.
Here is the picture from the accompanying article.
Here is the text of the caption “Weapons recovered during a week-long police operation focused on reducing knife crime in London.”
Look at that image again. I’ll give you a little help.
I’ve counted at least a dozen Swiss Army Knives, three Leatherman tools, and a sommelier tool.
This is a ban on possession of knifes that puts adults in prison for six months for carrying a Swiss Army Knife.
These aren’t people who threatened or stabbed anyone with a SAK, just people who had them in their pockets.
They are tossed in with the people carrying prison shanks and daggers.
All of this to combat “knife crime.”
Congrats, London, you make MacGyver a dangerous criminal.
Rosina Cottage QC, a member of the council, said: “Too many people in our society are carrying knives. If someone has a knife on them, it only takes a moment of anger or drunkenness for it to be taken out and for others to be injured or killed. These new guidelines give courts comprehensive guidance to ensure that sentences reflect the seriousness of offending.”
See, Londoners have to have their SWKs taken away. They may be law abiding now, but there is no telling when they will fly into a fit of rage and so the best policy is to assume the worst and punish them preemptively.
Welcoming the guidelines, the justice minister Rory Stewart said: “Knives ruin lives and fracture communities, and carrying a weapon is often an indicator of further devastating crimes to come.
Or, you know, open plastic packaging or cut a hot dog lengthwise to keep a toddler from choking on his lunch.
This is the future of America as this gun control push slides into insanity. They don’t know how to prevent crime, but they do know how to take a law abiding guy with a SAK in his pocket and turn him into a criminal.
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