Saturday 11 May 2019

What's In A Name?

Met detectives have proposed introducing licences for...
Dogs? Cyclists?
...“Rambo knives” amid concerns that a growing number are being used in stabbings.
But most stabbings are ordinary kitchen knives.
The Offensive Weapons Bill, expected to come into law later this year, will make retailers check the age of anyone purchasing a knife before handing over an online order at a residential address. It will also ban possession of weapons such as zombie knives and knuckledusters.
Wait, so one named type of knife will be banned, and another licenced? Won't they just rename them to get around the licensing?
But officers said there are legitimate reasons for buying a hunting knife and more could be done to stop dangerous blades getting onto the street.
They have discussed the possibility of licences with the Home Office to make them less easy to get hold of.
Like guns.

Errrr....

Hang on. I've detected a flaw.
Detective Inspector Nathan Munson, of the Community Safety Unit based in Newham, said: “The Offensive Weapons Bill will prohibit zombie knives, but they are not the main problem. It is the survival knives.”
Oh, Nathan, ten seconds after this scheme launches, they'll all be  'hunting knives' anyway!
He added that although kitchen knives may be easier to obtain, they are not made to kill — survival knives will cause more damage.
They might not be made to kill, but they are doing pretty well at it.

Here's a thought - rather than wrestle over definitions of the weapons used, why not concentrate on the person wielding that weapon?

H/T: StateControl via Twitter

6 comments:

ivan said...

why not concentrate on the person wielding that weapon?

The problem with that is two fold, 1) it implies feet on the beat, 2) they would have to go after the protected ones. both of those are a no, no for the modern police farce leaders.

Anonymous said...

Let us try to maintain a sense of proportion here...police recruitment standards have improved enormously, JuliaM.

Idiots are usually screened out during a lengthy initial recruitment process and this prevents them from serving alongside the smarter set of imbeciles and morons. And the few idiots that may be fortunate enough to outwit the draft panel, will never make it passed Inspector grade.

Michael said...

Well that's me for the Nick then. I use a Golock (stop laughing at the back, it's a British Army issue) to cut back the weeds and wood in my garden and when camping. I carry a Swiss Army Knife clipped to my belt almost every day and use a number of other knives regularly. On the other hand I've stabbed exactly 0 people in over 40 years. You are quite correct though people do the deed, no knife or gun has grown little legs and rampaged through the streets.

Bloke in Germany said...

First they came for the people with guns because they like to shoot. But I didn't have a gun, so I did not speak up.

...

And finally they came for the people with kitchen knives because they like to cook their own food, rather than eat mass-produced chavslop from the freezer compartment at Lidl's. And there was no one left.

Scott said...

Surely kitchen knives are the more dangerous, as they are designed for one thing in mind: slicing through organic material as easily as possible?

But seriously, "zombie knives" are the "assault weapons" of the knife world. Big, scary-looking to those who know nothing of the subject, and easy for the powers-that-be to demonise in the vain attempt to look like they are doing something about crime. No-one needs such a thing, they cry, oblivious to the 90% of knife crime committed with something you can buy in any supermarket.

JuliaM said...

"both of those are a no, no for the modern police farce leaders."

And that needs to change, or they will be regarded as 'the enemy' by even law-abiding people.

"... no knife or gun has grown little legs and rampaged through the streets."

But I bet Boston Dynamics is working on that! :D

"And finally they came for the people with kitchen knives because they like to cook their own food, rather than eat mass-produced chavslop from the freezer compartment at Lidl's. "

When they pry it from my cold dead hands!

"...easy for the powers-that-be to demonise in the vain attempt to look like they are doing something about crime. "

Showing, not doing, seems to be all that's required for public services these days.