4 ms·
What about a chef who is of color in a bad neighborhood? Who is the arbiter of "purpose"?
by robk 8y ago
What about a chef who is of color in a bad neighborhood? Who is the arbiter of "purpose"?
- tialaramex 8y agoAt arrest, a police officer. It's their choice whether they think your excuse means they shouldn't arrest you. After that, a CPS prosecutor, whose job is to decide whether they should try to convict you of some crime or not based on the public interest tests. At trial, ultimately this would be a matter for a jury. But "bad neighbourhood" definitely doesn't come into it, "I need it for self defence" doesn't constitute a lawful purpose. The chef's defence gets to introduce any excuse the chef may believe he has, but it's like to be subject to fairly intense cross from the prosecutors. On the other hand sometimes these excuses are ludicrous, and the court is entitled to tell the jury that they don't have to credit such an excuse just because it wasn't explicitly rebutted by the prosecution. The main thrust of this article is that it's wrong to even be _arresting_ these people never mind jailing them. And you can't solve the former in the courts.
- makomk 8y agoWhich is basically a long-winded say of saying that British knife laws are exactly the kind of laws that should make a great weapon for racist police officers and prosecutors to use against racial minorities.
- JdeBP 8y agoIt's not that long winded. tialaramex said as much in xyr very first sentence.
- a2tech 8y agoWhile we're on the the subject of English knife laws--do people just not carry pocket knives? I always have a knife with me and use it all the time.
- dagw 8y agoI haven't lived in England for years, but the law used to be that as long as it was a folding blade under 7 cm you where OK.
- AllegedAlec 8y agoNot any more. A man was arrested not too long ago for carrying a potato peeler.
- dagw 8y agoWhy are the only sources I can find when googling this from sites like Breitbart, Infowars, Daily Stormer, Daily Caller etc.
- dragonwriter 8y agoA potato peeler would usually not have a folding blade, so this, even if true, doesn't actually contradict the grandparent.
- jessaustin 8y agoYou're really a rather poor sort of Subject. Using a knife "all the time" makes you less helpless, not more as the State intends.
- joefourier 8y agoIreland is even more strict than England. Carrying a knife of any sort is illegal unless you have a good reason for it - e.g. you're going camping or you're a chef. Even Swiss Army knives are technically illegal.
- regularfry 8y agoYes. There are fairly tight criteria on what are allowed, mind: manual opening short blades with no serations that don't lock open and (I think) don't have finger guards are ok. Most Swiss Army knives are fine, most Gerbers and Crkts aren't. Mora's and other fixed blades are right out. Edit to add: I carry an Opinel no 8, which is technically illegal on two fronts, but would be utterly impractical as a weapon. I've only ever had one problem doing so: one got confiscated at security going on the Millennium Wheel about a decade ago, but there was no other comeback from that and they're dirt cheap, so I just bought another.
- api_or_ipa 8y agoIt's worth noting that Crown Prosecutors are appointed, not elected as District Attornies are in America. Far less politics, pandering and electioneering which, anecdotally, leads to less vindicative prosecution.