Criminal Justice Act 1988 (Offensive Weapons) (Amendment) Order 2008

rose to move, That the Grand Committee do report to the House that it has considered the Criminal Justice Act 1988 (Offensive Weapons) (Amendment) Order 2008. The noble Lord said: I do not know whether I gained this SI because I was president of the Royal Naval Amateur Fencing Association or because I tend to wear a sword with my No. 1 uniform. The Criminal Justice Act 1988 introduced an order-making power to ban the manufacture, sale and importation of specified offensive weapons. Currently the offensive weapons order prohibits 17 weapons, including sword sticks, knuckle-dusters, disguised knives and batons. Today, in an effort to further improve public safety, we are seeking to add swords with a curved blade of 50 centimetres or over to the schedule of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 (Offensive Weapons) Order. This will make it an offence to sell, manufacture, hire or import any sword which fits that definition, subject to defences which seek to allow legitimate use of such items. A person would be liable on summary conviction to a maximum term of six months imprisonment and/or a fine. Violent crime committed with bladed weapons is an ugly and destructive aspect of our society and totally unacceptable. The statistics reflect a far too common view among some that carrying and using bladed weapons is a way of displaying strength and earning respect. Our primary concern is public safety, and restricting the supply of weapons which are being used in violent crime is an important contributor to that. The Government have been concerned for some time about reports of weapons described as samurai swords being used in violent crime, including murders. Police advice is that the availability of samurai swords makes them the weapon of choice for growing numbers of young men with criminal intentions, and the Association of Chief Police Officers fully supports this ban. We therefore published a consultation document in March 2007 on whether to ban the sale, hire and import of samurai swords and other weapons, and announced our intention to proceed with a ban on samurai swords in December 2007. We have discussed with collectors, martial arts groups, lawyers and law enforcement agencies definitions to capture adequately samurai swords and defences to allow for legitimate uses of such swords. The definition and defences that we have arrived at capture the cheap imitation swords that the Government are most concerned about being used in violent crime, while allowing the legitimate use of samurai swords by martial arts groups and collectors. We have also looked to frame the definitions and defences in such a way as to ensure that the ban is enforceable, minimising the need for subjective assessments by law enforcement bodies on what is and is not banned under the order, and closing off loopholes which more unscrupulous retailers might use to circumvent the ban. The definition we have arrived at is, "““a sword with a curved blade of 50 centimetres or over in length””." While such a definition potentially captures swords other than samurai swords, the Government think this is proportionate to ensure that we have a ban which is meaningful and which will have a real impact in reducing the availability of items that have and can be used in violent crime. Three gang members involved in violence and drug dealing who murdered a man in Newport with a samurai sword after he stood up to them were given a total of 60 years in jail in 2006. Noble Lords may recall the terrible incident in 2000 in which Nigel Jones—now the noble Lord, Lord Jones of Cheltenham, the then MP for Cheltenham—was injured and his assistant murdered by a man armed with a samurai sword. Only last month, a young man was jailed for life for murdering his brother with a samurai sword in Lincoln. Responses to the consultation made a good case for not discriminating against law-abiding citizens who use samurai swords for legitimate purposes. The defences in Article 3 of the order account for collectors of genuine high-value samurai swords of historical and cultural significance. The defences set out in Articles 4 and 5 of the order provide defences for those people who use samurai swords to partake in historical re-enactments and those engaged with reputable martial arts associations. These defences are in addition to those that apply to Crown functions and those that exist for museums and galleries, for all items over 100 years old and for defences in the Violent Crime Reduction Act relating to television, theatre and film productions. At present, we do not propose to add items other than samurai swords to the offensive weapons order. Arriving at a definition that captures items such as fantasy knives and hunting knives but not knives that have a legitimate use—for example, penknives and domestic knives—has not proved possible in the time available. The Government will however continue to work with law enforcement and local communities to keep offensive weapons policy under review. The Government are determined to do everything they can to tackle the menace of violent crime and we have a strategy, overseen by the Prime Minister, to achieve that. We are taking action on a number of fronts: new legislation, increased penalties, holding a national knife amnesty in 2006, tough enforcement operations by police to detect those carrying knives, and support for community organisations working with young people. Banning samurai swords is not, in itself, the answer to tackling violent crime, as a number of people opposing the ban in our consultation correctly pointed out. However, it is a small but important part of our strategy. Although legislation is already in place making it illegal to carry offensive weapons and most knives in public, there is nothing to stop any individual of 18 or over walking into a shop and getting hold of these dangerous weapons, which have been used in a number of murders and violent attacks in recent years. That is unacceptable. We need to cut off the supply of samurai swords and prevent them getting into the wrong hands, but we should allow for their legitimate use without compromising the effectiveness of any ban. That is what the order seeks to achieve and I urge noble Lords to support it. I beg to move. Moved, That the Grand Committee do report to the House that it has considered the Criminal Justice Act 1988 (Offensive Weapons) (Amendment) Order 2008. 12th Report from the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments.—(Lord West of Spithead.)