Offensive weapons

Offensive weapons

If you have been arrested and charged with any offence relating to offensive weapons you will need a solicitor with the experience and specialist knowledge required to deal with your case in the most effective manner possible.

Mounting a strong defence against such charges requires a firm of solicitors with the specialist knowledge and experience needed to give you the best possible chance of securing a favourable outcome. Norrie Waite & Slater solicitors has a large criminal defence team with decades of combined experience in defending clients charged with offensive weapons offences.

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Offensive Weapons

Carrying an offensive weapon, or a knife, or a bladed/pointed article is a serious offence. The unlawful provision and possession of all weapons has been judged by the Courts to encourage violence and therefore by extension to facilitate serious injury and death in addition to facilitating other criminal offences.

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What is an offensive weapon?

The term 'offensive weapon' is defined as: "any article made or adapted for use to causing injury to the person, or intended by the person having it with him for such use".
Offensive weapons fall into three categories:

• Those made for causing injury to the person. These include: machetes, swords, flick knives, truncheons. These weapons are classed as having no innocent quality. Other weapons which do not fall into this category do have an innocent purpose such as ordinary razors, penknives and lock knives.
• Those adapted for such a purpose
• Those not so made or adapted, but carried with the intention of causing injury to the person (this definition offers much broader scope to include items which do have an innocent purpose but are carried with the intent to use them as an offensive weapon)

Defences against offensive weapons charges

The only possible defences against a charge of carrying an offensive weapon are:

• lawful authority to carry
• reasonable excuse to carry

Defences based on either of these options require an experienced solicitor with specialist legal knowledge. Contact us for more information.

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