What should the punishment be for carrying a knife?

Tricky isn't it. People need knives as part of their everyday life. I use a knife to sharpen my pencils!

At the same time, the police don't seem to stop and search people at random for knives. (Is it because I is white?) I guess that if they search someone they suspect, for whatever reason, and they find that person has a knife, and they think that he could intend to use it to do damage, then they could confiscate it. They surely can't be intending to arrest and sentence anyone who has a knife purely on the grounds that they have a knife though.

I'm not entirely sure that it should carry a five year sentence, but it does seem to be true that a lot of violent crime involves knives, possibly more than guns. It sounds to an extent that the high penalty for carrying knives the police want is partly as a deterrant. The idea is that some people will be locked up, and that will be a warning to other people so that the practise of carrying knives- and knife related crime- will be reduced. It's a harsh measure, but they must have evidence to support it. Maybe they're treating the symptoms of social ills instead of the causes; on the other hand, they may be trying to treat the symptoms at the same time as the cause?

You guys don't know about the UK, you are allowed to defend your own property/family with reasonable force.

It does not mean you hand in all your knives, it means you hand in knives which are for example combat, fighting knives etc

I can;t understand that you thought all knives have to handed in!!!

Hahahaha.

If you carry or buy a knife its your intended use, if you are not carrying it for any good reason then it becomes an offensive weapon. If clearly you are a carpenter or something you will have tools. Guys its in context of a situation.

Which is why alot of gangster guys had baseball bats with gloves and a ball, that legit, but a bat onits own has no good reason.

How can you people allow the government to get away with that sort of tyranny? Are you allowed to have a freakin' knife in your own home? Will you need to get a special "cake knife permit" to carry knives for work? Rise up, force a revolution!!

the guy must be evaluated, you under no circumstances suggested in case you had the knife in college or why you had the knife to start with. If the provider replaced right into a minor, the circumstances take impact for this reason. you haven't any longer provided lots so it will be the discretion of the decide.

The law as is has always made arrangements for those who use the offensive weapons in the line of work (it is up ti you to prove the need for it).

The proposal of of 5 years for carrying a knife should not only be applauded but become mandatory imprisonment for carrying an offensive weapon, and if used in a crime , the sentence for the crime should consecutively so that the criminal gets the full sentence and be made to serve it all, with no early release for so-called good behaviour.

A dad holding his son was stabbed to death last week, a police woman called out to a domestic case was stabbed to death, a young boy attending school was stabbed to death. a young man helping a mugging victim stabbed to death all in the past few weeks. Excuse me but living in britain, 5 years is no-where near a long enough sentence. Of course you can have a knife in your own home but there is absoulutely no need at all to carry one on the streets. For once the government in this country is getting it right. And if it means saving at least one persons life from a killing that could have been prevented by the tighter rules on carrying knives then good on the gov't and the police force.

There shouldn't be any punishment for carrying a knife. There should only be a punishment if that knife is used to harm another person.

There should be no punishment for carrying a knife. However there should be punishment for harming someone with said knife.

Britain is quickly becoming a joke, a stupid joke at that. This is proof.

What next? Cricket bat registration? Laws against sharp fingernails?

man...the commies in your country are taking away one of a persons most valuable rights..to be able to defend himself and his family...