The law changes at the end of the month. Soon it will be illegal to own a zombie knife. But what are they? And why are they so dangerous?
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00:00In a bid to crack down on dangerous weapons on the streets, the law will change around
00:06zombie knives on the 24th of September. It will soon be illegal to own this type of blade
00:10which have a plain cutting edge, a sharp pointed end and are over 8 inches long. They also
00:16have more than one of the following, a serrated cutting edge over 2 inches long, more than
00:20one hole in the blade, spikes or more than two sharp points in the blade. But just how
00:25much of an issue is knife crime in the UK though? Home office stats at the start of
00:29the year showed a whopping rise of 77% compared with the previous year. Sentencing statistics
00:35from the Ministry of Justice show that in the year ending March 2023, there were just
00:39over 19,000 cautions and convictions made for possession of a knife or offensive weapon.
00:45Juveniles, those aged between 10 and 17, were the offenders in around 18% of cases.
00:52Until the law changes at the end of the month, owners of zombie blades are being asked to
00:55hand them in. To some success, one wholesaler has surrendered more than 35,000 of the blade
01:01type. But is the law change too little too late?