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US tourist arrested in seaside town ‘because he didn’t understand UK laws’
(www.independent.co.uk)
this post was submitted on 10 Apr 2025
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To be fair, I don't really understand what they're trying to achieve with these laws. A knife is just a tool, the issue isn't carrying one, but intending to use it to hurt someone, and if you intend to hurt someone, you will find some way to hide it anyways. If people are going around stabbing each other in the streets, the problem is much deeper than "they shouldn't be carrying knives in the public", perhaps your education system failed to teach them morality.
Yeah...so you address all aspects and take the weapons away.
Someone with a knife is orders of magnitude more dangerous than someone without.
It wasnt even a personal carry knife, it was a steak knife from his rental. Bizzare stupid behaviour.
There are legitimate uses for a knife besides using it as a weapon, for example slicing bread for a sandwich, opening packaging, slicing fruit etc., stuff that I could see myself doing at a beach...
My point was that even if you ban knives, that won't prevent people from carrying them, and this is confirmed by the fact that knife crime has been rising in the UK since the regulations have been put in place.
Tbf I thought it was a complete ban on knives in public, but apparently small pocket knives under 7cm are allowed, and you probably don't have any legitimate reason to carry anything larger than that, so I don't think the law is harmful, but it fails to address the core of the problem. And yeah, carrying a steak knife "for protection" is pretty strange...
The ban is technically on carrying a knife openly. If he had it in a picnic basket with a loaf of bread, there wouldnt be an issue.
The reason open carry is regulated is because it affects those around you and whether they feel comfortable or safe. Becoming the source of potential danger is not an acceptable way to make yourself feel comfortable or safe.
If someone walks by me with a knife, I have to be wary of an attack, since I don't know if that person is likely to or not.
And if people generally don't carry knives around, it's easier for the police to spot a risk.
It's also easier to apprehend the potential attacker. No, "go away officer, I'm quite within my rights until I've actually stabbed someone."
Then it's also harder for people at risk of violent tendencies to carry. And less risk of some impromptu argument escalating to knives rather than fists.
Now, there's nuance and counterpoint to all these points, and you might not agree with the law. I think those are all things the law achieves/benefits/mitigates, even if, as you say, it doesn't stop all intentional would-be knife attackers.
And perhaps our education system did fail... but not for everyone. I, too, would like to see a fully successful education system for every citizen, sojourner and visitor; but that's easier said than done.
If you believe you need a weapon on a beach in the UK, you're already beyond help.
I dunno man, those seagulls...
How I see it, stabbing someone is far more illegal than carrying a knife, so if someone is open to stabbing a person, this law won't stop them from concealed carrying. Now what is more dangerous, someone having a knife and you can see it, or someone having a knife and you can't see it?
There are also usually separate laws in place that prohibit brandishing a weapon, so I think apprehending potential attackers isn't a huge problem.
I guess it might reduce the amount of knives involved in random confrontations as you mentioned.
Looking up the stats, the laws weren't effective in decreasing knife crime, in fact it rose by over 50% in England and Wales between 2014 and 2019.
But then again, apparently carrying small pocket knives under 7cm is allowed, and you probably don't have any legitimate reason for carrying anything larger than that.
It's the random stabbings that these laws are targeting. A lot of wannabe gangster teenagers in cities will carry a knife on them all day "for protection", and if they happen to get into a fight the knife inevitably gets used. It could also be argued that carrying a knife gives them the confidence to escalate a situation into a fight in the first place, foolishly thinking that they can "win" without considering that the other guy might also have one until it's too late.
Of course, that's not the only thing that's required, as it's a cultural problem that needs to be destroyed, but it at least does something.
I was under the impression that knife fights rarely end without both parties injured. I dont quite get the draw of it over something like a bat or piece of pipe.
An acid is just a liquid. Carrying a bottle of it shouldn't be an issue.
A hypodermic syringe is just a medical device.
An axe etc etc
Stupid reasoning.
Hey if your using it for it's intended purpose walking through a forest with an axe makes sense. On a beach not so much.