"In town" is too vague a term to be of much use, I feel.
If you were to take the start of 'town' as the signs on the road in, then that covers quite a large area, for any town.
I would far rather see severe sentences for knife crimes where the knife was used as an offensive weapon, in the terms of the act, rather than for marginal infringments of the possession facet of the law.
When I'm out for a wallk in the countryside in Wiltshire or Cumbria, I might have a Mora, an MOD Survival Knife and a Laplander saw in my bag (as well as a Swiss Army Knife or 2 in my pockets). This brings about the lawful authority or reasonable excuse argument.
I might see some wood to cut along the way, or I might not, I do not have a specific piece of wood in mind when I set out for my walk, therefore I have the large knives with me 'just in case', which is a little dodgy.
If I committed an assault or robbery with my knives, then I would expect the full weight of the law, etc, but I am a reasonable and responsible citizen, having no criminal record, and have a plausable excuse for the items I may have.
A few years ago, when I was a pistol shooter, and the ban was being enacted, we were told that if we (as law abiding, police vetted firearms holders) failed to surrender our legally held, no criminal usage pistols, we would face 10 years jail. Contrast this with the current paltry 5 year sentence for the illegal posession of a prohibited weapon (it's acquisition would have been illegal also, as it could only have been with criminal intent).
If you were to take the start of 'town' as the signs on the road in, then that covers quite a large area, for any town.
I would far rather see severe sentences for knife crimes where the knife was used as an offensive weapon, in the terms of the act, rather than for marginal infringments of the possession facet of the law.
When I'm out for a wallk in the countryside in Wiltshire or Cumbria, I might have a Mora, an MOD Survival Knife and a Laplander saw in my bag (as well as a Swiss Army Knife or 2 in my pockets). This brings about the lawful authority or reasonable excuse argument.
I might see some wood to cut along the way, or I might not, I do not have a specific piece of wood in mind when I set out for my walk, therefore I have the large knives with me 'just in case', which is a little dodgy.
If I committed an assault or robbery with my knives, then I would expect the full weight of the law, etc, but I am a reasonable and responsible citizen, having no criminal record, and have a plausable excuse for the items I may have.
A few years ago, when I was a pistol shooter, and the ban was being enacted, we were told that if we (as law abiding, police vetted firearms holders) failed to surrender our legally held, no criminal usage pistols, we would face 10 years jail. Contrast this with the current paltry 5 year sentence for the illegal posession of a prohibited weapon (it's acquisition would have been illegal also, as it could only have been with criminal intent).