Knives on our streets.

I think I can truly say that I’ve never had a need for any sort of knife when out in public. I mean, I know a penknife can be used to extract a Boy Scout out of a horse’s hoof, but how often do those circumstances arise nowadays?

Fwiw, my son was threatened with a penknife and scratched on his arm by a class mate when they were at primary school. The other boy had the knife taken away by the head teacher and told not to do it again. Today it would be local headline news.

Vickrum Digwa has appeared in court, along with his brother and father, charged with multiple weapons offences.
Vickrum, 23, who has already been sentenced for the murder of Henry Nowak, appeared at Southampton Magistrates’ Court to face six counts of possessing an offensive weapon in a private place.
The alleged weapons are a flick knife, an extendable baton, knuckledusters, a machete, swords and kusaris.
His father, Moga Singh, 52, and his brother, Gurpreet Digwa, 27 - who are on bail - appeared alongside him to face the same charges.
Gurpreet also faced four additional charges:
Possessing an offensive weapon, an asp, in a public place
Possessing a prohibited weapon - an air rifle
Possessing an axe in a public place
Possessing a knife in a public place
All of the offences are dated 4 December 2025, the day after Nowak was killed.

@butterandjam
Yes, I see your point. I suppose what I was trying to suggest was that all knives, legal or otherwise, have the potential to do harm. It depends on who's carrying them.

Law-abiding people like you and your husband obviously have no bad intentions.

Wazzam

@butter and jam
I still personally believe, due to the current state of this country, that ALL knives should be banned.

Show me you mean it and have really thought this through; start with your kitchen knives.

BoggledMind

People in the UK, religious or not, can legally carry, without a reason, a knife, providing it has a blade of less than 3 inches and the blade is manually folded away, without a locking mechanism.

These can still cause a fair amount of damage and shouldn't be carried either, in my opinion.

But they are so useful. DH always carries one. I always carry the one my Dad gave me when I was 6. In my best handbag I carry the one Barnardoes gave me as a prize for fundraising. All legal.

@butter and jam
I still personally believe, due to the current state of this country, that ALL knives should be banned.

Let me keep my Swiss Army Knife!

butterandjam

Wazzam

I personally feel strongly about this and cannot believe that people of a certain religion are allowed LEGALLY to carry knives (I know it was ceremonial, but still a knife) on the streets of Britain. I think this needs sorting ASAP.

How do you feel about men in kilts wearing a knife tucked in the top of their sock ? The sgian-dubh is ceremonial and legal on the streets of Britain too.

They should be banned too.

Wazzam

I personally feel strongly about this and cannot believe that people of a certain religion are allowed LEGALLY to carry knives (I know it was ceremonial, but still a knife) on the streets of Britain. I think this needs sorting ASAP.

How do you feel about men in kilts wearing a knife tucked in the top of their sock ? The sgian-dubh is ceremonial and legal on the streets of Britain too.

Knife crime is actually falling, although still too high of course. I don't think it should be compared to gun crime in the US
"Killings involving a knife or sharp instrument fell by 21% last year, according to figures from police forces in England and Wales.

It comes after official data previously showed that homicides had fallen to their lowest level in nearly 50 years.

"Crime statistics published on Thursday by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed 172 homicides involving a knife or sharp instrument were recorded by police forces in 2025, compared with 217 in 2024.

Last year's number of knife-related killings is also the lowest since comparable data was first collected in 2010-11."

I agree that there should be zero tolerance of carrying any knives. These days knife crime is becoming what gun crime is to the US. It needs to be ‘no knives and no excuses’.

Anyone wearing traditional Highland dress can also carry a knife, a sgian-dubh.

People in the UK, religious or not, can legally carry, without a reason, a knife, providing it has a blade of less than 3 inches and the blade is manually folded away, without a locking mechanism.

These can still cause a fair amount of damage and shouldn't be carried either, in my opinion.

I personally don’t think that any religion should allow believers to carry dangerous weapons. There should be no exceptions
We are Jewish but not practising and think that if there is a God he/she/they would not waste time dictating wardrobe choices and which weapons to carry.
It is people who make these choices, not God, and they should abide by the man made laws of the land.