Disabled caravanner given criminal record for penknife in car
Full time carer Rodney Knowles kept the knife in his glove compartment of his vehicle.
The 61-year-old, who walks with the aid of a stick, was stopped by police on suspicion of drink driving - he was below the legal limit - but officers found the knife in a pouch in the car's glove box.
He was given a conditional discharge after admitting the weapon charge at Torbay magistrates court in south Devon.
Knowles, from Buckland, Newton Abbot, Devon, said:"It's a stupid law. Now I have a criminal record."Prosecutor Philip Sewell said:"He told officers that he had the knife for caravanning. He is not working and had no malicious reason for carrying the blade."
Mr Jolyon Tuck, defending, said he uses the knife to cut up fruit on picnics with his wife.
He said:"He accepts it is in his car and the law is very clear. He admits possession of it and he had no good reason for having it."
Knowles was ordered to pay £40 costs and the knife was forfeited.
The retired maintenance engineer, who has no previous convictions, said:"It was in my glove box in a pouch, along with a torch, first aid kit and waterproofs."
These people seem to think so:
‘Jail knife carriers’, says Godman
Jail knife carriers, says Cameron
Tories Will Jail All Knife Carriers (- "The party would also fast-track the introduction of mobile weapons scanners on streets, trains and buses.")
Do you get the whole illiberal law thing now? Good.
6 comments:
A newpaper report said it was a Swiss Army knife. I have one of those on my desk here right now - I used to carry it in my jacket pocket when out. I thought it was OK as it had a folding blade of less than 4 inches!
They are deliberately criminalizing innocent people, and at the same time letting the real criminals go freely about their 'business'.
How do you get the knife home from the shop? Next we will hear about armed police raids on weddings to check the gifts for cutlery sets.
Do we know the name of the (socalled) police officer who decided to charge Mr Knowles? This should be broadcast, so that come the time he needs assistance from the public, he doesn't get it. The man is a disgrace to the uniform he wears.
Why don't more people know about jury nullification?
Poor guy. I too was under the impression that small knives with blades that don't lock were legal.
For what reason did police search his car? l assume it was the old ploy of 'Would you mind if l searched your vehicle?. People hear this request as an order ... it isn't. Don't ever give them permission ... ever!
There must be more to this than is mentioned in the article, or he got terrible legal advice. Is far as I can see the law allows you to carry a folding penknife with a blade of less than 3 inches.
Link:http://www.goxplore.net/guides/Knife_law_%28UK%29
So if it was a folding Swiss army knife then its a travesty of justice and he should get some proper legal advice and appeal.
If on the other hand it was a fixed bladed knife of any length I'm afraid under the current law he's bang to rights. Unless one has a profession which uses such knives (butcher, chef, gamekeeper, farmer) carrying them is illegal.
Its utter madness of course. Why the law cannot distinguish between middle aged caravanners who want to eat fruit, and hoodies carrying butterfly knives on council estates I'll never know. Can we please go back to a bit of common sense law and policing, instead of this legalistic insanity?
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