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5 March 2007
The sale, import and hire of samurai swords could be banned by the end of the year, Home Office Minister Vernon Coaker said today.
The proposal, outlined in a consultation paper issued by the Home Office, will help to take dangerous weapons out of circulation and protect the public.
Banning Offensive Weapons – A Consultation recommends that replica samurai swords should be added to the offensive weapons order, meaning the sale, hire and import would be prohibited. There have been approximately 80 serious crimes involving imitation samurai swords in England and Wales over the last four years.
Those who breach the prohibition would face up to six months in prison and a maximum fine of £5,000. Carrying a samurai sword in a public place already carries a maximum jail sentence of four years.
At present there are 17 weapons, including knuckle-dusters and batons, on the Offensive Weapons Order.
Home Office Minister Vernon Coaker said:
“Public safety is our greatest priority. Samurai sword crime is low in volume but high in profile and I recognise it can have a devastating impact. Banning the sale, import and hire will take more dangerous weapons out of circulation, making our streets safer.
“We recognise it is the cheap, easily available samurai swords which are being used in crime and not the genuine, more expensive samurai swords which are of interest to collectors and martial art enthusiasts. As such as we are putting forward exemptions for these groups.
“Knife crime and sharp instrument homicides have remained stable, while violent crime has fallen by over a third in the last nine years. It is already illegal to have a samurai sword in a public place but I want to restrict the number of dangerous weapons in circulation to enhance community safety.”
The consultation proposes exemptions for groups such as the To-ken Society of Great Britain and the British Kendo Association. These exemptions would cover genuine collectors’ swords made in Japan before the existing licensing regime came into force in 1953 or those made by licensed Japanese swordsmiths since that time. It also suggests that specific weapons used in martial arts or samurai swords used in sport should be exempt. It is the sale, import and hire of all cheaper imitation samurai swords – the type of weapon that is used in violent crime and which is not made in Japan under licensing arrangements – which would be banned.
Notes to Editors
- Banning Offensive Weapons – A Consultation is on the Home Office website at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/about-us/haveyoursay/current-consultations/ The deadline for responses is Monday 28 May 2007
- The Offensive Weapons Order was created by the Criminal Justice Act 1988.
