Prosecutor’s appeal against dismissal of charge for possession of offensive weapon. The defendant had a butterfly knife with him when arrested. the respondent went with his father to a shopping precinct at 3 o’clock on the day concerned and that he intended to leave a butterfly knife that he had with him at the shop where his father worked.
Held: The Magistrates were entitled to take the view that, on the facts of this case, there was a reasonable excuse.
Citations:
[2004] EWHC 2744 (Admin)
Links:
Statutes:
Prevention of Crime Act 1953 1
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Citing:
Cited – Director of Public Prosecutions v Hynde Admn 3-Jul-1997
A butterfly knife is an offensive weapon per se in that it is made for use for causing injury to the person. . .
Cited – Southwell v Chadwick CACD 1987
It was a reasonable excuse for a person to have in his possession a machete knife in its scabbard and a catapult for use for killing grey squirrels, so that he could obtain food for his wild birds. The court was mainly concerned as to whether the . .
Cited – Gibson v Wallace 1983
Where a person is in possession of an article by its nature an offensive weapon, there will be ‘a very heavy burden on any person in possession . . . to satisfy any court that he had it for such an innocent purpose’ to constitute a reasonable . .
Cited – Regina v Densu CACD 7-Nov-1997
Where an object is in its nature an offensive weapon, the offence of possession is committed even though the possessor had no idea of the true nature of the object: ‘it could not be a reasonable excuse to say that he had [an offensive weapon] with . .
Cited – Houghton v Chief Constable of Greater Manchester 1986
An off-duty policeman was returning from a fancy dress party in a policeman’s uniform, carrying a truncheon. The issue arose in the course as to whether or not that would constitute an offence.
Held: The words ‘reasonable excuse’ in section . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Crime
Updated: 04 October 2022; Ref: scu.219928
