The defendant was charged with possession of an offensive weapon in public. He was holding an air rifle at a shooting gallery when, on a sudden provocation, he shot and wounded a woman.
Held: he had a reasonable excuse for ‘carrying’ the rifle though not, of course, for using it in that way: ”The long title of the Preventive of Crime Act 1953 is’ An Act to prohibit the carrying of offensive weapons in public places without lawful authority or reasonable excuse.
The appellant was not carrying this rifle without lawful excuse because he was at a shooting gallery where for the payment of a few pence people can amuse themselves by firing at a target. He was carrying the rifle for that purpose, so he had an obvious excuse for carrying it. It was his use of the rifle which was unlawful, and for which he might be convicted of a felony . . the Offences against the Person Act 1861 provides appropriate punishment. The Act of 1953 is meant to deal with a person who goes out with an offensive weapon . . without any reasonable excuse. ‘
Judges:
Lord Goddard, CJ
Citations:
[1954] 1 QB 503, [1954] 1 All ER 696
Statutes:
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – Szewczyk, Regina v CACD 22-Oct-2019
The defendant said that he had been threatened in the street and had taken two knives from his attacker. He appealed his conviction saying that the Crown had not shown that he had intended to use the knives offensively.
Held: His appeal . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Crime
Updated: 22 November 2022; Ref: scu.650539