Consultation outcome

Offensive and dangerous weapons: new legislation

This was published under the 2016 to 2019 May Conservative government
This consultation has concluded

Read the full outcome

Summary of consultation responses: new legislation on offensive and dangerous weapons

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Detail of outcome

The consultation opened on 14 October 2017 and closed on 9 December 2017. It was open to responses from across the United Kingdom. We received 10,712 responses. Approximately 60 percent of the responses were on the firearms proposals and 30 percent of the responses dealt with the online knife sales proposal.

Approximately 20 percent of the responses to the consultation were from organisations with the remainder being from individuals. Not all responses provided a response against each proposal, with some only commenting on those that were relevant to them.

Responses from the consultation were taken into consideration during the development of the Offensive Weapons Bill and the government is grateful to all those who responded and provided further input.

The bill was introduced into Parliament on 20 June.


Original consultation

Summary

We are consulting on new laws on offensive weapons, in response to public concerns about violent crime.

This consultation ran from
to

Consultation description

Stopping serious violence is a priority for the government and we are determined to take effective action to protect the public. Police recorded violent crime has increased since 2014 and in the 12 months period ending March 2017, violent crime recorded by the police increased by 18 percent.

The Office for National Statistics have said some of this increase can be attributed to:

  • improvements in how police forces record crime
  • more victims of domestic violence being willing to come forward to the police
  • the creation of new offences and greater awareness of these crimes

However, some of the increases in certain types of violent crime are thought to be genuine, including rises in offences involving knives and firearms.

The government has already been taking significant action including:

  • supporting police enforcement action through ‘Operation Sceptre’ - an ongoing series of weeks of intensified action on knife crime, including:

    • targeted stop and searches
    • targeting habitual knife carriers
    • weapon sweeps
    • test purchases of knives from retailers
    • surrender bins
    • legislating where necessary (for example banning zombie knives in August 2016)
    • working with retailers to enforce sales restrictions
    • working on prevention through engaging with young people through voluntary sector groups. This was set out in the government’s Modern Crime Prevention Strategy, published in March 2016.
  • an action plan to stop the use of acid and other corrosives in violent attacks which is based on:

    • support for victims and survivors
    • effective law enforcement
    • ensuring legislation is applied effectively
    • working with retailers to restrict access to acid and other corrosive substances of concern

It is vital that we ensure we do all we can to prevent these horrendous attacks from happening in the first place.

We have now identified the need for new primary legislation to respond to public concerns and provide the police with the powers they need. The consultation paper seeks views on the legislative proposals on offensive and dangerous weapons.

The consultation is open to views from across the United Kingdom. It covers proposals that will apply in England and Wales but also extends to Scotland for certain proposals where indicated. We will work closely with the devolved administration in Northern Ireland on how any proposals might apply in Northern Ireland.

Documents

Consultation on new legislation on offensive and dangerous weapons

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Impact assessment: proposals acid and corrosive substances

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Impact assessment: proposals on firearms

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Impact assessment: proposals on knives

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Updates to this page

Published 14 October 2017
Last updated 20 June 2018 + show all updates
  1. Consultation response on legislation on offensive and dangerous weapons added.

  2. First published.

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