Knife Crime, Weapons and Staying Safe
A calm, plain-English United Kingdom guide for young people, parents, carers, teachers, youth workers and anyone who is worried. It explains why carrying a weapon increases danger, what the law says in England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, what to do if you are being pressured to carry or hide something, how to surrender a weapon safely, and where to find urgent or anonymous help.
Reviewed August 2026
Carrying a knife does not make you safer
Carrying a knife does not make you safer. It puts a weapon into every argument, every misunderstanding and every moment of panic. A decision made in seconds can end one life and destroy many others.
Spoken plainly, and without drama:
- A person can be injured or killed with the weapon they were carrying themselves.
- Another person can die, or be left with life-changing injuries.
- The person carrying it can lose their freedom, their education, their job and the plans they had for their life.
- Families, friends and witnesses can live with what happened for years afterwards.
- Carrying a weapon because of fear, bullying, threats or gang pressure does not mean it is too late to ask for help.
- Asking for help is not weakness. It is one of the few things that can stop what happens next, and it could save a life.
This page speaks directly to young people, and it is also written for parents, carers, teachers, youth workers, social workers and anyone else who is worried. It does not assume that any young person is a criminal.
Weapon present or someone in immediate danger — call 999
Call 999 now if:
- someone has a knife, firearm or other weapon and may use it
- a weapon is being used to threaten someone
- an attack is happening, or has just happened
- shots have been heard
- someone has been stabbed, shot or seriously injured
- someone is being forced into a vehicle or taken somewhere
- there is an immediate risk to life
What to do:
- Move away if you can do so safely.
- Do not confront the person, and do not try to grab or take the weapon.
- Call 999 and follow the call handler’s instructions exactly.
- If it is safe to speak, give the location, a description of the person, the direction they went, and what you saw about the weapon. Only give this if it is safe to do so.
- Do not put yourself in danger to film what is happening.
- Do not touch or move a weapon that has been left or abandoned — tell the police where it is.
- Serious bleeding or any serious injury needs emergency help immediately. If it is safe to help, firm pressure on serious external bleeding can be applied while you wait for the ambulance and follow the 999 call handler’s instructions.
If you cannot speak safely on a 999 call from a mobile, stay on the line and follow the automated instructions the operator gives you.
No immediate danger, but you are worried
- Call the police on 101.
- Report online through your local police force’s official reporting service.
- Contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
- Young people can use Fearless to pass on information anonymously.
- Speak to a trusted adult: a parent, carer, teacher, school safeguarding lead, college safeguarding team, youth worker or social worker.
- If the danger becomes immediate at any point, call 999.
Please understand: anonymous services such as Crimestoppers and Fearless pass information on, but they are not emergency services and cannot send anyone to help. They cannot provide an emergency response. Only 999 can do that.
Key points
- Carrying a weapon “for protection” can increase danger rather than remove it.
- A weapon can turn an argument, or a moment of panic, into a fatal incident.
- Being asked to carry, hide, transport or store a weapon for somebody else is serious, and is often part of how young people are exploited.
- An imitation firearm can still cause terror, trigger an armed police response and lead to serious criminal consequences.
- Someone who is being threatened or exploited needs protection and support, not judgement.
- It is never too late to step away and ask for help.
- Immediate danger always means 999.
Why a young person may carry a weapon
Understanding a reason is not the same as excusing it. Most young people never carry a weapon. Those who do usually give reasons like these:
- fear of being attacked
- bullying or direct threats
- pressure from friends, or from a gang
- county-lines involvement or other criminal exploitation
- being told that “everybody else is carrying” — which is usually untrue
- wanting status, respect or a feeling of protection
- retaliation after an earlier incident
- pressure, dares or provocation through social media
- holding or minding a weapon for someone else
- believing that adults, schools or the police will not protect them
Fear and coercion must be taken seriously. A young person can be at risk of committing an offence and be a victim of exploitation at the same time. Both things need to be dealt with — the risk of harm to others, and the harm being done to them.
If someone is being groomed, controlled or used by an older person or a group, please also read Gangs, County Lines and Keeping Young People Safe.
What actually happens when a weapon is carried
A knife cannot control what happens once it is introduced into a situation. Nobody carrying one can choose how frightened, angry or fast the next few seconds will be.
- A weapon can be taken and used against the person who brought it.
- Friends who were there may panic, run, or later give evidence. People rarely behave the way anyone expects.
- CCTV, mobile phones, messages, social-media posts, witnesses and forensic evidence can all become part of an investigation.
- Being investigated or convicted can affect education, travel, work and future opportunities — often in ways that are hard to predict when someone is sixteen.
- Even when nobody is injured, possession alone, or threatening someone, can have serious legal consequences.
- Helping, encouraging, supplying or storing a weapon for somebody else can also lead to investigation and prosecution.
Prison is not the only consequence, and it is not the most important one. A death cannot be undone. An injury can change how somebody walks, works or breathes for the rest of their life. Families are bereaved. Friends carry guilt. Witnesses carry what they saw. Whole neighbourhoods become frightened of places they used to walk through.
It is also important to be honest and accurate: a criminal record does not automatically stop every job, every university course or every journey abroad. What happens depends on the offence, the sentence, the disclosure rules that apply, how much time has passed, and the requirements of the employer, course or country involved. Some doors close, some do not, and some close for a period of years. Nobody can promise either that “nothing will happen” or that “your life is over”.
What the law says
The law is different in England and Wales, in Scotland, and in Northern Ireland. Please read the section for the nation you are in. This is general information, not legal advice, and the law can change — always check the official source, and get legal advice about any individual situation.
England and Wales
Threatening someone. It is illegal to use any knife or weapon in a threatening way. Threatening another person with a blade or offensive weapon in a public place, in a school or in a private place is a separate and serious offence.
Carrying in public. Carrying most knives or bladed or pointed articles in a public place without a lawful reason (sometimes described in law as “good reason or lawful authority”) is an offence under section 139 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988. Carrying an offensive weapon in public without lawful authority or reasonable excuse is an offence under the Prevention of Crime Act 1953.
Examples of a lawful reason can include taking tools to work, carrying equipment for a trade, sport or religious observance, or transporting a knife you have just bought — properly wrapped and taken straight home. Whether a reason is lawful is decided by a court on the facts. It is never a lawful reason to carry something because you feel you might need it against another person.
The folding pocketknife exception. A folding pocketknife with a cutting edge of three inches (7.62cm) or less is treated differently under section 139. It must fold, and it must not lock open — a lock-knife is not covered by that exception. This is a narrow exception in the law and it is not permission to carry anything as a weapon. If an item is carried with the intention of using it to injure or threaten someone, that intention can make it an offensive weapon regardless of its size or type.
Ordinary objects. A lawful everyday object — a screwdriver, a tool, a bottle, a piece of sports equipment — can become an offensive weapon in law if it is carried with the intention of using it to injure someone.
Penalties. For an adult, the maximum penalty for illegally carrying a knife or an offensive weapon can be four years’ imprisonment, an unlimited fine, or both. More serious offences — threatening, causing injury, robbery, or possession with intent — can carry substantially heavier sentences. Repeat possession offences can bring minimum-sentence provisions, subject to the law and to what the court decides in the individual case.
Schools and colleges. Educational premises have additional legal protection: having a bladed article or offensive weapon on school premises is a specific offence, and further powers apply there.
Age. It is illegal to sell most knives to anyone under 18 anywhere in the UK, and some weapons are banned outright regardless of age.
Scotland
Scotland has its own criminal law, its own prosecution service (the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service) and its own courts. Do not assume that penalties or terms used in England and Wales apply in Scotland.
Under the Criminal Law (Consolidation) (Scotland) Act 1995, it is an offence to have an offensive weapon in a public place without lawful authority or reasonable excuse, and it is a separate offence to have a knife or sharply pointed article in a public place without good reason or lawful authority. There are also specific offences relating to school premises.
Penalties in Scotland are set by Scottish legislation, and carrying a knife or offensive weapon can lead to a substantial prison sentence on conviction on indictment, as well as a fine. Police Scotland use stop-and-search powers where the law allows. Scotland’s approach also includes long-running public-health violence-prevention work.
Please check the current position with Police Scotland and the Scottish Government.
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland has its own legislation, its own police service (the PSNI) and its own prosecution service (the Public Prosecution Service for Northern Ireland).
It is an offence in Northern Ireland to carry an offensive weapon in public without lawful authority or reasonable excuse, and to have a bladed or sharply pointed article in a public place without good reason or lawful authority, under the Criminal Justice (Northern Ireland) Order 1996. Threatening someone with a weapon and having a weapon on school premises are dealt with separately.
Age restrictions on the sale of knives apply in Northern Ireland, and penalties are set by Northern Ireland legislation. Please check current penalties and age rules with nidirect, the PSNI or the Department of Justice before relying on them.
Firearms and imitation firearms
Firearms law is complex, and offences vary considerably. What follows is only an outline. Every individual situation needs legal advice and should be checked against current official sources.
- Many firearms and types of ammunition require lawful authority, such as a certificate.
- Some weapons are prohibited outright.
- Possessing, carrying, supplying, hiding or using a firearm can lead to extremely serious charges.
- Firearms offences can carry long prison sentences. Some offences — for example possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life — can carry a maximum of life imprisonment. Different offences carry very different maximum sentences, and some carry minimum terms.
- An imitation firearm can still cause real fear, can trigger an armed police response, and can be part of very serious offences such as robbery or threatening someone.
- Being asked to store or “mind” a firearm or imitation for another person does not make the situation harmless, and does not remove responsibility.
Do not assume one universal sentence applies to all firearms offences — it does not. Check the CPS guidance and the legislation, and get legal advice.
If someone asks you to carry or hide a weapon
You may be told things like:
- “Hold this for me.”
- “Keep it at your house.”
- “Put it in your bag.”
- “Take it to somebody.”
- “You won’t get searched.”
- “Nothing will happen because you’re young.”
These are not favours between friends. They are often part of criminal exploitation — the risk is moved onto you while somebody else keeps the benefit.
What to do:
- Do not agree to carry, hold or move it.
- Move away when it is safe to do so.
- Do not confront the person on your own.
- Tell a trusted adult or a safeguarding professional what has happened.
- Call 999 if there is immediate danger.
- Use 101, Crimestoppers or Fearless when the danger is not immediate.
- Tell the police if you have been threatened, forced, blackmailed or frightened into it.
Nobody can promise that reporting automatically prevents arrest or prosecution. What is true is that coercion and exploitation are important information: they must be told to the police, to a solicitor and to safeguarding professionals, because they can affect decisions about charge, prosecution and support. Say it early, and say it clearly.
If a weapon is already in your possession
Please read this carefully, and do not act on assumptions. Do not simply set off through the streets carrying it, and do not walk into any police station with it unannounced.
- If there is immediate danger, do not move the weapon — move away if it is safe and call 999.
- Do not display it, threaten anyone with it, photograph it for social media, or pass it to another person.
- Contact your local police force on 101 for instructions before attempting to transport or surrender anything.
- Tell the call handler exactly what the item is and where it is.
- Follow the instructions the police force gives you.
- Do not take it to school, college, work or any other public place.
- Never leave it anywhere a child or another person could find it.
This page does not give handling, packaging, concealment or transport instructions. The police will tell you what to do in your area, and their instructions come first.
Knife-surrender bins and police stations
There is a widespread belief that every police station has a knife bin. That is not correct.
- Not every police station has a permanent surrender bin.
- Some forces have permanent bins at selected locations only.
- Other forces run temporary surrender or amnesty schemes at particular times.
- Opening hours and the items accepted vary between forces and locations.
- Contact your local police force, or check its official website, before moving anything.
- Ask the police how to surrender the item safely and lawfully.
- An amnesty or surrender scheme does not normally protect someone from investigation for a separate offence in which a weapon was used.
- Never carry a weapon around while searching for a bin. Carrying it to find a bin is itself a risk, and can be an offence.
Because locations and schemes change, this page does not publish a fixed national list. Use the official force finder instead.
Worried about a friend or family member
None of the following proves that somebody is carrying a weapon. Young people change, become private and have bad weeks for many ordinary reasons. What matters is a pattern, a sudden change, or something that does not add up:
- talking about needing protection
- sudden fear about travelling through certain areas
- unexplained injuries
- carrying an unusually heavy or concealed item
- pressure from new associates
- threatening messages
- going missing
- unexplained money, phones or travel
- becoming frightened when a particular person calls
- talking about retaliation, or about “paying someone back”
How to approach it:
- Choose a calm, private time to talk, when there is no immediate danger.
- Listen before accusing. An interrogation usually closes the conversation down.
- Ask directly, and kindly, whether they are being threatened or are carrying anything.
- Do not search their clothes, bag or room if doing so could create danger, or destroy trust you will need later.
- Do not arrange a confrontation with a suspected gang, or with other parents.
- Contact safeguarding professionals — school, college, children’s social care or the police.
- Call 999 when a weapon is present or danger is immediate.
Practical steps for parents and carers
- Listen first. Shouting, threats or punishment as an opening move usually stops a frightened young person from telling you the rest.
- Take threats and exploitation seriously, even if the story seems exaggerated.
- Record concerning messages, dates and incidents where it is safe to do so — without confronting anyone or putting your child at risk.
- Contact the school or college designated safeguarding lead.
- Contact children’s social care if you suspect criminal exploitation.
- Report immediate danger to 999, and non-urgent concerns to 101.
- Get legal advice quickly if your child is arrested or is to be interviewed by the police, and mention any coercion, disability or communication needs.
- Get emotional support for yourself, for siblings and for other family members. This affects a whole household.
Do not handle, hide, move or dispose of a weapon yourself. Contact the police for instructions, and call 999 if anyone is in danger.
Schools, colleges and youth organisations
Safeguarding procedures exist precisely for these situations, and following them protects both the young person and the staff member.
- Record concerns factually, promptly and without speculation.
- Do not promise absolute confidentiality. Explain honestly that some information has to be shared to keep people safe.
- Involve the designated safeguarding lead or equivalent without delay.
- Escalate immediate danger to 999, and consider whether other people on site are at risk.
- Consider exploitation as well as offending — a young person may need a safeguarding response, not only a disciplinary one.
- Follow your organisation’s policies on information sharing and on working with police.
This page does not give instructions for searching or restraining a young person. Organisations must act within their legal powers and follow their own safeguarding procedures and professional guidance.
Leaving a gang or dangerous group
Simply announcing an intention to leave can create risk. It is safer to plan it with help than to do it alone.
- Speak privately to a trusted adult or a specialist service before making any announcement.
- Tell professionals about specific threats — who, what, when and how.
- Do not confront the group alone, and do not try to negotiate on your own.
- Review phone and social-media safety with appropriate help.
- Ask about safe travel, school or college arrangements, and about housing where relevant.
- Call 999 if you are threatened or followed.
- Ask for safeguarding support if you are under 18 or are being exploited.
Nobody can promise that leaving will be quick or risk-free. It is still usually the safest direction, and there are people whose job it is to help with it.
Social media, threats and weapon content
- Do not share or forward images of weapons to impress or frighten people.
- Do not arrange or agree to confrontations through group chats.
- Save evidence of threats when it is safe to do so, without repeatedly sharing it around.
- Use the platform’s reporting tools to report threats and weapon content.
- Tell a trusted adult, and tell the police.
- Immediate threats mean 999.
- Posts, messages, videos and old photographs can become evidence in an investigation long after they were sent.
If threats are happening at school or between pupils, see also School Bullying and Cyberbullying.
If somebody has been arrested
- Ask for a solicitor. Free independent legal advice at the police station is a right.
- Children and vulnerable people should have an appropriate adult present for interview.
- Tell the solicitor and the police about threats, coercion, exploitation, disability, communication needs or mental-health difficulties.
- Ask for reasonable adjustments where they are needed.
- Do not discuss the case on social media or in group chats.
This page is not a substitute for legal advice. For help finding a solicitor or understanding legal aid, see Solicitors and Legal Help.
Victims, witnesses and bereaved families
People who are hurt, who witnessed something, or who have lost someone deserve support in their own right, for as long as they need it.
- Emergency and medical help comes first — 999 for serious injury, and A&E where needed.
- Information can be reported to the police on 101, or anonymously through Crimestoppers or Fearless.
- Victim Support helps victims and witnesses whether or not the incident was reported, and runs the Homicide Service for bereaved families in England and Wales.
- Trauma responses — flashbacks, sleeplessness, fear of going out, anger, numbness — are common and treatable. A GP can refer for talking therapy.
- Bereavement support is available, including specialist support after violent death.
- Please avoid retaliation, and avoid naming or accusing people publicly online. It can put others in danger and can damage an investigation.
It is not too late to choose a different direction
Being frightened does not make you weak. Being pressured does not mean you have no choices. If somebody is making you carry, hide or use a weapon, tell a trusted adult or professional exactly what is happening.
One honest conversation could stop an injury, a death or a prison sentence. Asking for help may be the strongest decision you ever make.
Helping without judgement
Prevention works better when adults understand fear, trauma, exploitation, disability, poverty, racism and genuine local safety concerns — without excusing violence. Both parts matter. Understanding why a young person is frightened is not the same as accepting that carrying a weapon is acceptable.
This page does not blame any race, religion, neighbourhood, style of clothing or type of music. Doing so is inaccurate, and it makes young people less likely to ask for help.
It is also untrue that knife or firearm crime is committed only, or mainly, by young people. This page is youth-focused because early support and prevention make the biggest difference at that stage of life, not because young people are the problem.
Practical checklist
- Is anybody in immediate danger?
- Call 999 if a weapon is present or may be used.
- Move to safety if you can.
- Do not confront anyone, and do not attempt to disarm anyone.
- Do not film an unfolding emergency.
- Write down safe, factual information afterwards — times, descriptions, what was said.
- Tell a trusted adult.
- Contact the school or college safeguarding lead.
- Use 101 for non-emergency police concerns.
- Use Crimestoppers or Fearless for anonymous reporting.
- Explain any threats, coercion or exploitation to police, a solicitor and safeguarding staff.
- Do not agree to hold a weapon for someone else.
- Contact the police before attempting to surrender a weapon.
- Do not carry a weapon around looking for a surrender bin.
- Ask for legal advice after an arrest.
- Seek mental-health and bereavement support when it is needed.
This checklist is general guidance only. It is not an emergency assessment, a risk assessment or legal advice.
Official links and helplines
Law and guidance
Police and reporting
Scotland and Northern Ireland
Support
Related pages on this website
Please contact the police or a qualified adviser
Sixpence Support UK provides information and signposting. It cannot provide an emergency response, investigate crime or give legal advice. Call 999 when somebody is in immediate danger.
This page gives general information only and is not a substitute for legal advice, police instructions or professional safeguarding decisions. The law, penalties, schemes and services described here can change, and differ between England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Always check the current official source and take advice about your own situation.
Reviewed August 2026.
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References checked against the official sources listed above in August 2026.