Knives on display

[CaptHolt]

I don't think IBU but would like to ask MN for opinions or advice , especially if there's any law regarding it

So for background , I live in a small seaside town where young kids cause trouble quite regularly ( there's always a Facebook post most nights about this sort of stuff )
I work in a supermarket where I've seen guards, customers & staff verbally abused by kids , sometimes as young as 12. Recently one of the guards had a bottle of pop thrown all over him for trying to get a group of kids to leave after one had been spotted stealing sweets.
The local bus station is also the same , big groups vaping , sweating etc. It's gotten a lot worse since the summer holidays have started

Anyways , today I was standing outside a shop waiting for DM to grab something she needed & I was just looking at the items displayed in the window
( think sort of tat / junk shop )
I noticed in the corner a lot of knives on display , like pocket knives , a Batman double knife & others
I wondered if it was legal / morally right to do so considering there is a rise in knife attacks especially amongst young kids.
I mentioned it to DM who said the man who owns the shop is lovely , I said that didn't matter
Basically she told me it was none of my business

I can't find any laws on shops displaying them
I know in supermarkets there covered in plastic , also we challenge people who look under 25 if they try to buy one
WIBU to just report it to the police ?
If they already know & it's all within the law , no harm done I suppose

I've added a pic to show the style of knives & how easily displayed they are

The shop sells knives, so they're on display. I can't see any reason for them not to be. I've seen displays like this in lots of shops and never questioned it.

Wow that lot could do some damage OP. I've got no idea what the laws are re displaying knives. You'd hope that the shop would be checking ID of anyone buying them. Not sure what you should do tbh.

No idea what the law is, but curiosity and google led me to this voluntary agreement that big retailers follow www.gov.uk/government/publications/sale-of-knives-voluntary-agreement-by-retailers/sale-of-knives-voluntary-agreement-by-retailers
That includes appropriate display and packaging . But I imagine smaller independent shops, like the one you mention, aren’t beholden to this.

I agree it’s a weird choice for a display - maybe it’s just the most secure place he could put them? What he needs is a secure cabinet behind the till really. And I hope they are properly packaged at purchase - you can’t just pop it in a carrier bag or your pocket after all.
If your DM insists the owner is nice, could you just mention your concerns to them??

The batman ones looks like they would fall short on the zombie killer type ban.

All the others look quite legal to have in your home, everything I can see there would be illegal in the street

But should they not be covered ? As I I mentioned in the OP I work in a supermarket & I remember when the laws came in where we had to sell them in more secure packaging , think that hard plastic you always need a pair of scissors to open

The karambit also possibly a bit dodgy

Thank you for the link , I must of skimmed past that one when I was googling
We were halfway down the street when i mentioned it to her & I was looking for somewhere to change DS nappy
If I don't report to police , I will probably mention it to the shopkeeper
Thank you

I'm totally clueless on knives so all I see is potential damage
I would like to think the staff were asking for ID

I'd email the local beat team the photo and raise your concern. A couple of those do look on the edge of being illegal. Every police force at the moment has high priority around knife crime so the local beat team may then go speak to the owner and see if he'd cooperate with the voluntary agreement that an earlier poster mentioned.
You should be able to find your beat team contact details on your police forces website.

Would that not be because the public can go to the shelves and buy/steal them whereas in that shop, the customers have no direct access to them and would be IDed before even getting close to them?

The way they're displayed is no problem. The content of the display may be

www.theyworkforyou.com/pbc/2017-19/Offensive_Weapons_Bill/10-0_2018-09-11b.297.0#:~:text=Retailers%20have%20to%20ensure%20that,of%20injury%20and%20prevent%20theft.

Retailers have to ensure that knives are displayed and packaged securely, as appropriate, to minimise risk. This will include retailers taking practical and proportionate action to restrict accessibility, avoid immediate use, reduce the possibility of injury and prevent theft.

(4) No offence is committed under this section if—

(c) the display is accessible only to persons who are engaged in, or employed by, a business which is also part of that trade.

I have seen knives on display like that in quite a few tatty souvenir type shops in seaside towns.

I don't think it's illegal provided they're not actually selling them to under-18s. You couldn't carry these legally on the street, but you could buy one and keep it at home perfectly legally. There are some types of bladed weapon that are illegal to sell, but they are mostly things like flick knives etc where the blade is designed to be concealed, and also things like handclaws etc.

The only one I think might possibly be iffy here is the Batman one, as is there is a law against 'zombie knives' which I think would probably include a weapon like this, although hard to tell from the picture. Although they might have to prove that any wording/branding was linked with violence and I don't know if Batman associations would actually count or not!

I totally agree with you that it's somewhat irresponsible to have a display of knives like this, and I doubt many people who buy them have good intentions. But I don't think there's any real grounds for a police complaint here.

That refers to a bill that was being debated, so probably isn't actually the law yet.

Here's a summary of the law on buying and selling weapons as it currently stands: www.gov.uk/buying-carrying-knives

@slashlover from what I could see , the counter was along the back wall of the shop , not too sure of the distance away from the window as I was standing outside. There was a range of items around that area so customers could certainly browse around that area easily

Just zoomed in properly. Has that batman one got 2 massive blades on it or is that 2 different knives? I've never seen anything like it.

@Poppyseed14 I believe it's one knife with 2 blades on it.