Can Scouts carry knives?
27/03/2009 There is much confusion around whether Scouts can carry knives. The main piece of UK legislation regarding the possession of knives and other sharply pointed/bladed objects is the Criminal Justice Act 1988. The Act details what is generally deemed to be an ‘offensive’ weapon and Section 139 particularly describes what types of knives are banned, those that can be carried in public and under what circumstances. The law in a nutshell: • Buying/selling knives • It is illegal for any shop to sell a knife of any kind (including cutlery, kitchen knives or swiss army knives) to anyone under the age of 18 (in England, Northern Ireland and Wales) or under the age of 16 (Scotland). • Carrying knives • In general, it is an offence to carry a knife in a public place without good reason or lawful authority (for example, a good reason is a chef on their way to work and carrying their own knives). • However, it is not illegal for anyone to carry a foldable, non-locking knife, like a swiss
