Map shows Kent area where people are most likely to be stopped for carrying weapons
Zombie-style knives are now banned under new legislation that comes into force on Tuesday (September 24) - and our map shows the parts of Kent where people are most likely to have been stopped carrying a weapon.
The new legislation closes a legal loophole and makes it an imprisonable offence to own, make, transport or sell a wide range of what are called “statement” knives favoured by criminal gangs.
Zombie-style knives and machetes are defined as weapons with blades over eight inches (20cm) in length, normally with a serrated cutting edge.
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An amnesty and compensation scheme has been running to encourage people to surrender their weapons ahead of the ban.
It comes after data obtained by the BBC under the Freedom of Information Act showed that in 2023 zombie knives, machetes, or swords were mentioned in more than 14,000 crimes recorded by 32 police forces in England and Wales.
In 2019, there were 7,159 offences recorded as involving the large blades, which rose to 14,195 in 2023.
Nearly 10,000 of the offences recorded in 2023 involved machetes, double the number from five years before, the broadcaster reported.
Separate Home Office figures show that there were 1,022 serious offences recorded in Kent that involved the use of a knife in the year ending March 2024, including murder, rape, robbery, assault, and sexual assault.
That has halved in the last five years, from 2,096 serious offences involving a knife that were recorded by Kent Police in the year ending March 2019.
However, crime figures also show that 685 offences of possessing a knife were recorded in Kent last year, an 8% increase from the previous year and more than triple the 204 crime reports a decade ago.
In the last three years, Kent Police have identified more offenders carrying a blade in Medway than anywhere else in our county, with a total of 372 crimes recorded.
But when compared to the population, people are more likely to be caught in possession of a knife in Thanet.
There were 207 crimes recorded in Thanet, which adds up to 147 crime reports for possession of a “bladed or pointed article” for every 100,000 of the population in Thanet
That’s the equivalent of about one in every 680 people being caught carrying a knife in the last three years.
It means, based on crime reports in the last three years, people are more likely to be found in possession of a knife in Thanet than anywhere else in Kent.
Thanet is followed by Medway with 132 crime reports per 100,000 of the population, and Dover (116).
You can see how many people have been caught carrying a knife near you using our interactive map.
It is illegal to carry most knives in public without a “good reason” that could include for work purposes, religious reasons, or as part of a national costume.
But certain knives, such as a flick knife or a “zombie knife” - a knife with a cutting edge, a serrated edge, and images or words suggesting it is used for violence - are banned.
The new legislation now makes it illegal to possess, sell, or manufacture zombie-style knives - which are the same as a zombie knife but without the “distinct images or threatening wording that incites violence”.
The law closes the loophole that allowed people to buy these dangerous weapons without the images or wording.
Under an amnesty scheme retailers and members of the public had until today (September 24) to surrender this type of weapon and receive a standard compensation of £10.
The maximum sentence for carrying a knife in a public place or being caught in possession of a banned knife is four years in prison.
Gavin Stephens, chairman of the National Police Chiefs’ Council, welcomed the ban but added: “We’re acutely conscious that bans and the legislation and enforcement is only one part of the equation, and we know that there’s a lot for us to do across the full range of our policing activities to deter young people from violence.
“We’re not going to solve the problem of knife crime just by one aspect of it.”
Technology is currently being developed that would allow police to detect people carrying knives from a much longer distance away.
New systems, currently at the prototype stage, could first be used on large crowds such as concertgoers or at train stations, scanning passers-by who pass by two points without needing to pass through a detection arch. It is hoped that the technology could be deployed in the next few years.
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