Section 2 creates an offence of publication of unlawful marketing material, a person is guilty of an offence if they publish any written, pictorial or other material in connection with the marketing of a knife and that material-

If a defendant is silent when questioned and then raises a defence at trial, the prosecutor should seek to have the court draw an adverse inference from this silence. Legislation sets out the effects of the following: the defendant’s failure to mention facts when questioned or charged; the defendant’s silence at trial the defendant’s refusal or failure to account for objects, substances or marks; and the defendant’s refusal or failure to account for his or his presence at a particular place. Prosecutors should ensure each condition is satisfied before seeking these inferences. However, in appropriate cases they should be sought. Bad character The most likely gateway for admitting hearsay evidence in cases involving knives is if the witness will not give evidence due to fear. It does not matter whether the fear was brought about by or on behalf of the defendant and fear is given a wide definition which includes fear of the death or injury of another person or of financial loss. This includes fear as a consequence of the offence the subject of the trial. 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: 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. Intelligence around the knives should also be captured during an investigation: its type, material, brand or any identifying marks. Although this may not form part of the active investigation, the intelligence is invaluable and will allow the police to target enforcement and prevention work more effectively. Sale of Knives

Further Reading

Threatening with a bladed articles in a public place or on school or further education premises - Section 139AA Section 1 of the Knives Act 1997 creates an offence of unlawful marketing of knives, which is committed if a person markets a knife in a way which- Other charges may be more appropriate if the threat falls short of ‘serious physical harm’, for example common assault. Possible defences Evidential stage: Is there sufficient evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction? The evidence must be able to be used in court, reliable and credible, and there is no other material that might affect the sufficiency of evidence. If there is sufficient evidence, go on to consider: The Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 (YJCEA) introduced a range of special measures that can be used to facilitate the gathering and giving of evidence by vulnerable and intimidated witnesses. Special measures are designed to help vulnerable and intimidated witnesses to give their best evidence in court and help to relieve some of the stress associated with giving evidence. Child witnesses under the age of 18 will automatically be eligible for Special measures by virtue of section 16 of the YJCEA. Special measures include: screens, live link, evidence given in private, removal of wigs and gowns by barristers and judge in the Crown Court, video recorded evidence, use of an intermediary and aids to communication.

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: 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. More information can be found in the legal guidance on Bad Character Evidence. The decision to charge is otherwise likely to stimulate or encourage violent behaviour involving the use of a knife as a weapon. Investigators and Prosecutors should also be aware that the issues raised in ‘County Lines’ offending can apply to some knife crime- see the guidance on County Lines Offending. Applications to remand in custodyPossession of certain dangerous knives - Section 1A Restriction of Offensive Weapons Act 1959- as inserted by section 44 of OWA. Public Interest stage: Is a prosecution required in the public interest? A prosecution will usually follow unless there are public interest factors tending against a prosecution which outweigh those in favour. There is a compelling public interest in the prosecution of adults for offences involving weapons. Cautions

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 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 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. This Practical Guidance document sets out the approach of the Police and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to knife crime offending. The document will be updated periodically to reflect changes in legislation as well as changes in any guidance or policy introduced by the Police or CPS.See section 142 Criminal Justice Act 1988. Responsible Retailer Agreements / HO voluntary agreement 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.

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. Depending on the offence, specific defences may be available to a person primarily being whether they can show that they had a good reason, reasonable excuse or lawful authority for having a knife with them. Other specific defences are included for some offences including but not limited to: for use at work, for religious reasons, for educational purposes or as part of a national costume. These defences are for the defendant to prove on the balance of probabilities, which means that merely providing an uncontradicted explanation is not necessarily sufficient.

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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. 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. Where a weapons offence is accompanied by another offence e.g. assault or robbery, the weapons offence should normally be charged as well as the other offence. 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. 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