4 ms·

I regularly carry a pocket knife. What's astounding to me, an American, is that my doing so in England could put me in prison for four years.

hexbin010 1y ago
- Australia: 10 years - Singapore: 5 years - Belgium: 5 years - Germany: 3 years - Switzerland: 3 years - Japan: 3 years - France: 3 years - UAE: 3 years - Italy: 2 years - Spain: 1 year We are not alone
defrost 1y ago
Only if * blade length greater than 3 inches, and * you lack any reasonable response as to why you are carry it, and * this happens repeatedly. Once all the above occurs, you might be charged, you then have the opportunity to present your case and defend your actions, but only if a prosecutor looks at the details of the charge and decides to carry it forward. To be sent to prison for four years (maximum) you would have also used that knife in a clearly threatening way that cannot be explained away by your defence lawyer. Even so, that is still unlikely to be awarded the maximum sentence, actual lunging and swiping with intent would probably be required. Many people carry knives in the UK - Chefs frequently carry knife sets to and from work, for example.
spacedcowboy 1y ago
[flagged]
- treetalker 1y ago
  I agree with a lot of what you've said, just to be clear. My (mis-)understanding was that all knives were forbidden.
- honkostani 1y ago
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Stabbing_attacks_in_London https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Stabbing_attacks_in_L...
  - spacedcowboy 1y ago
    Not sure what your point is here. If this is supposed to be a “bad comparison” to the US, the US has far and away more stabbing deaths than the UK, see [1]. That’s in addition to the gun-deaths, where the US completely eclipses the UK, see [2], being hundreds. Of times higher. [1]: https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/stabbing-deaths-by-country https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/stabbing-... [2]: https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/gun-deaths-by-country https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/gun-death...

hexbin010 1y ago

- Australia: 10 years - Singapore: 5 years - Belgium: 5 years - Germany: 3 years - Switzerland: 3 years - Japan: 3 years - France: 3 years - UAE: 3 years - Italy: 2 years - Spain: 1 year We are not alone

defrost 1y ago

Only if * blade length greater than 3 inches, and * you lack any reasonable response as to why you are carry it, and * this happens repeatedly. Once all the above occurs, you might be charged, you then have the opportunity to present your case and defend your actions, but only if a prosecutor looks at the details of the charge and decides to carry it forward. To be sent to prison for four years (maximum) you would have also used that knife in a clearly threatening way that cannot be explained away by your defence lawyer. Even so, that is still unlikely to be awarded the maximum sentence, actual lunging and swiping with intent would probably be required. Many people carry knives in the UK - Chefs frequently carry knife sets to and from work, for example.

spacedcowboy 1y ago

[flagged]

treetalker 1y ago
I agree with a lot of what you've said, just to be clear. My (mis-)understanding was that all knives were forbidden.
honkostani 1y ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Stabbing_attacks_in_London https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Stabbing_attacks_in_L...
- spacedcowboy 1y ago
  Not sure what your point is here. If this is supposed to be a “bad comparison” to the US, the US has far and away more stabbing deaths than the UK, see [1]. That’s in addition to the gun-deaths, where the US completely eclipses the UK, see [2], being hundreds. Of times higher. [1]: https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/stabbing-deaths-by-country https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/stabbing-... [2]: https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/gun-deaths-by-country https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/gun-death...