Anyone discovered in possession faces a maximum punishment of two years in prison. Those who create and market zombie knives risk going to jail.
The Home Office claims that while some machetes and other knives can be used legally in the agricultural and outdoor industries, criminals are buying, selling, and using the larger blades as weapons to frighten and gravely hurt people.
The new law tries to close the loophole that allows for more online sales of zombie blades.
What precisely are zombie knives, and what do the new regulations mean?
What do zombie knives do?
Police seized a zombie sword from a Hackney estate. Waltham Forest Police. PC Ware
A bladed weapon known as a “zombie knife” has been more frequently associated with gang activity and violent crimes. They frequently have one smooth blade and one serrated edge, drawing inspiration from zombie movies.
These knives can be found in a range of sizes and shapes, but they frequently have images or writing (on the handle or the blade) that imply using them for violence.
Past laws governing zombie blades
When Theresa May was the home secretary in 2016, the government declared that legislation to ban zombie knives was being drafted.
Later that year, it issued a statement outlawing the manufacture, importation, and sale of zombie knives in England and Wales.
Since 2016, certain zombie knives have been illegal, but there have been regulatory gaps that have allowed sales to go on. By taking the threatening wording off of the weapon, some dealers got around the regulations.
This suggested that police couldn’t seize the guns if they are found in someone’s home, even if they believe they were used to commit a crime.
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What does the new regulation imply?
A zombie-style knife is now defined as “any bladed weapon over eight inches in length with a plain cutting edge and sharp pointed end that also has either a serrated cutting edge, more than one hole in the blade, or multiple sharp points like spikes.”
Plans from the Home Office state that police will soon have the power to confiscate some items with blades, even if they are lawful. With this, the flaw that permits some shops to keep selling zombie blades will be closed.
Selling products with blades to minors or importing, making, or delivering offensive weapons that aren’t permitted has a maximum punishment increase from six months to two years in prison.
Police Minister Chris Philp said of the new measure: “Zombie-style blades and machetes serve no use other than to boost criminal egos and imperil lives. Owning these kinds of weapons serves no purpose.
In order to give our communities the peace of mind that this violent criminality will receive the punishments it merits and lives will be saved, he continued, “We are banning these knives and making sentencing more severe.”
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