Knives & guns

Other names for knife crime include: stab, shank, wet up, slash, weapon, tool, razor, slice, cut, bore.

Can you think of any more? Contact us

Knife crime is any crime that involves a knife. You can be found guilty of knife crime if you:

• Stab or slash someone with a knife
• Threaten someone with a knife
• Carry or try to buy a knife (under the legal age of 16 in Scotland or 18 in Northern Ireland, England & Wales

There are some knives that are illegal to carry no matter your age - these include the following:

Flick knives - the blade is hidden inside the handle and shoots out when the user presses a button.

Butterfly knives - the blade is hidden inside a handle that splits in two revealing the blade. 

Disguised knives - when a blade is hidden inside something else like a pen or keyring.

If you carry a knife for ‘protection’ or ‘someone else’ it isn’t an excuse in the eyes of the law. You’re also more likely to be stabbed if you carry a knife, e.g. your knife could be used against you.

What do we mean by this? We mean all the consequences that knife crime has on the people involved and the local community. Some are not that obvious and you might not have thought about them before.

• Social effects
• Physical effects
• Physiological effects

The police can search you if they think you’re carrying a knife. If they find one, you could be sentenced to 4 years in prison and fined £5,000.

If you have information about knife crime, be fearless and let us know anonymously.

If you know someone carrying a knife you can text us anonymously.

Text us their:

• Name and/or Nickname
• School
• Year
• Endz/Area

To 88551..

Your number is automatically scrambled. Your text can’t be traced and we can’t reply.

Delete the sent text from your outbox.

1 text is all it takes

*please note texts are charged your standard network rate

Other names for gun crime include: shoot, brap, pop, blast, cap, weapon, tool up, pistol, glock, gat, rifle, rap, bullet, unload, AK47.

Can you think of any more? Contact us

A gun crime covers any crime that involves a gun. You could be guilty of gun crime if you:

• Shoot someone.
• Fire a gun, even if no one’s injured.
• Carry or threaten someone with a gun or a fake gun.
• If you’re under 17, it’s illegal for you to own an air rifle too.

To buy a BB gun you must be 17 years or over. If you are younger than 17 and using a BB gun you must have a responsible adult with you.

BB guns look very realistic and you should never carry one with you in a public place or ever try to hide one on you. If the police see you with a realistic gun they will treat you as if it is real.

Guns are very expensive. Owning your own gun under the age of 18 is very unlikely, if you do get hold of a gun it is much more likely that you are borrowing or renting a gun. Therefore this gun is likely to have been used before.

If you are caught in possession with this gun you are very likely to be arrested and charged with possession of a firearm, minimum sentence for this is 5 years in prison.

Do you know how many times that gun has been used before? Has it ever been used to kill someone? The history of that gun is now linked to you. If forensics identifies that the gun found on you has been used to kill someone a few months ago are you prepared to take the blame for this?

Like knife crime we mean all the consequences that gun crime has on the people involved and the local community. Some are not that obvious and you might not have thought about them before. We can split the issues in 3 categories.

• Social effects
• Physical effects
• Physiological effects

If you are caught by the police in position of a firearm you will face a minimum of 5 years in prison.

Guns are associated with war and fighting. They are built with one purpose to kill their target.

You might think carrying a gun will give you status and a good reputation. In reality if you carry a gun you are more likely to cause harm to yourself and others. Professionals who use guns as part of their job have to undertake weeks of training before they know how to use a gun correctly. Street guns are modified and often loaded with the wrong sized bullets. All these factors make using a gun on the street really dangerous.

If you have information about gun crime, be fearless and let us know anonymously.

As we have explored under the gangs section of the site, there are many reasons for being involved in a criminal street gang. Status is a key factor that influences members of criminal street gangs.

Having access to weapons provides a gang with an immediate status – as other rival gangs will be fearful. This is why many gangs pose with photos of guns and knifes on their facebook or myspace pages - to ‘show off’ how easily they can access weapons.

It is illegal to carry a weapon and if caught they will face time in prison.

If you have any information about gangs with access to weapons, be fearless and let us know anonymously.

If you have any information on criminal gangs, be fearless and let us know anonymously.