What counts as an 'offensive weapon'?

An article made for causing injury to the person, an article adapted for such use, or an article the person had with them intending it for use by themself or another to cause injury — three categories.

What power do I use to arrest for this offence?

PACE 1984 s.24 — arrest without warrant where you have reasonable grounds to suspect the offence and an arrest is necessary on one of the s.24(5) grounds. The original s.1(3) power of arrest in the Prevention of Crime Act 1953 is repealed for England & Wales and must not be relied on.

Offensive Weapon in a Public Place

The offence of having an offensive weapon in a public place under s.1 Prevention of Crime Act 1953 — the statutory elements (points to prove) reproduced verbatim, mode of trial and maximum sentence, and the arrest and search powers, for frontline officers.

Unofficial independent resource — always verify with official sources (College of Policing, your force, PFEW).

Reviewed by the BlueLineHub Editorial Team

Last reviewed: 27 August 2026 · Next review due: 27 February 2027

Reviewed by BlueLineHub Editorial

What are the points to prove for having an offensive weapon in a public place under s.1 Prevention of Crime Act 1953?

Having an offensive weapon in a public place (s.1 Prevention of Crime Act 1953) requires: (1) the person has with them (2) in a public place (3) an offensive weapon, (4) without lawful authority or reasonable excuse — the burden of proving lawful authority or reasonable excuse lies on the defendant.

The offence is triable either way; the maximum on conviction on indictment is 4 years' imprisonment (s.1(1)(b) Prevention of Crime Act 1953).

All offence cards

Having an offensive weapon in a public place is defined by s.1 Prevention of Crime Act 1953: having with you, without lawful authority or reasonable excuse, an offensive weapon in a public place — the burden of proving lawful authority or reasonable excuse lies on the defendant. A related either-way offence, s.1A, covers threatening another person with an offensive weapon in a public place. It is educational reference, not a charging decision — verify against current law, CPS charging guidance and force policy.

Offence

s.1 Prevention of Crime Act 1953

Mode of trial

Triable either way.

Maximum sentence

4 years' imprisonment on conviction on indictment (s.1(1)).

Points to prove — statutory elements

Reproduced verbatim from the Act as published on legislation.gov.uk. These are the statutory elements, not a paraphrase — confirm the up-to-date text and any amendments at the source.

The verbatim text of s.1 below includes subsection (3), an original power of arrest that is REPEALED for England & Wales (Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 s.119(2) and Sch 7 Pt I). Do not treat s.1(3) as a live power — arrest for this offence is under PACE 1984 s.24.

s.1 — Prohibition of the carrying of offensive weapons without lawful authority or reasonable excuse.the offence — offensive weapon in a public place without lawful authority or reasonable excuse

(1) Any person who without lawful authority or reasonable excuse, the proof whereof shall lie on him, has with him in any public place any offensive weapon shall be guilty of an offence, and shall be liable—

(a) on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or a fine not exceeding £200, or both;

(b) on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding four years or a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds, or both.

(2) Where any person is convicted of an offence under subsection (1) of this section the court may make an order for the forfeiture or disposal of any weapon in respect of which the offence was committed.

(2ZA) See section 315 of the Sentencing Code for provision about the sentence which the court may be required to impose where a person aged 16 or over who has a previous relevant conviction (within the meaning of that section) is convicted of an offence under this section.

(2A) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(2B) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(2C) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(2D) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(2E) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(2F) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(2G) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(3) A constable may arrest without warrant any person whom he has reasonable cause to believe to be committing an offence under subsection (1) of this section, if the constable is not satisfied as to that person’s identity or place of residence, or has reasonable cause to believe that it is necessary to arrest him in order to prevent the commission by him of any other offence in the course of committing which an offensive weapon might be used.

(4) In this section “ public place ” includes any highway , or in Scotland any road within the meaning of the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984 and any other premises or place to which at the material time the public have or are permitted to have access, whether on payment or otherwise; and “ offensive weapon ” means any article made or adapted for use for causing injury to the person, or intended by the person having it with him for such use by him or by some other person .

Read s.1 on legislation.gov.uk

s.1A — Offence of threatening with offensive weapon in publicthreatening with an offensive weapon in a public place

(1) A person is guilty of an offence if that person—

(a) has an offensive weapon with him or her in a public place,

(b) unlawfully and intentionally threatens another person (“A”) with the weapon, and

(c) does so in such a way that a reasonable person (“B”) who was exposed to the same threat as A would think that there was an immediate risk of physical harm to B.

(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(3) In this section “ public place ” and “ offensive weapon ” have the same meaning as in section 1.

(4) A person guilty of an offence under this section is liable—

(a) on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding the general limit in a magistrates’ court or to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum, or to both;

(b) on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 4 years or to a fine, or to both.

(4A) For provision about the sentence which the court may be required to impose where a person aged 16 or over is convicted of an offence under this section, see section 312 of the Sentencing Code.

(5) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(6) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(7) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(8) In relation to an offence committed before 2 May 2022, the reference in subsection (4)(a) to the general limit in a magistrates’ court is to be read as a reference to 6 months.

(9) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(10) If on a person's trial for an offence under this section (whether on indictment or not) the person is found not guilty of that offence but it is proved that the person committed an offence under section 1, the person may be convicted of the offence under that section.

Read s.1A on legislation.gov.uk

Powers of arrest & search

Stop and searchs.1

PACE 1984 s.1 allows a constable with reasonable grounds to suspect they will find a prohibited article to stop and search a person or vehicle; an offensive weapon is itself a prohibited article under s.1(7)(a) (s.1(8) is the separate list of offences for made/adapted/intended articles). GOWISELY applies.

Code of Practice: PACE Code A — stop and search →

Arrest without warrants.24

A constable may arrest without warrant anyone whom they have reasonable grounds to suspect of having an offensive weapon in a public place, where an arrest is necessary on one of the s.24(5) grounds (PACE 1984 s.24). The power of arrest originally in s.1(3) Prevention of Crime Act 1953 was repealed for England & Wales by PACE 1984 s.119(2) and Sch 7 Pt I — do not cite s.1(3) as a live arrest power.

Code of Practice: PACE Code G — arrest →

Search on arrests.32

On arrest away from a police station, PACE 1984 s.32 allows a search of the arrested person for anything that might be evidence of the offence, where there are reasonable grounds.

Code of Practice: PACE Code B — search of premises →

CPS charging guidance

Verbatim extracts from the CPS charging guidance (Crown copyright, reproduced under the Open Government Licence v3.0). CPS revises this guidance — confirm against the live page and current law.

Possession of an offensive weapon in a public place – maximum 4 years' imprisonmentthe offence & penalty

This offence can be found in section 1 Prevention of Crime Act 1953 (“PCA 1953”). It is committed when a person has with them in a public place any article made or adapted for use for causing an injury to a person or intended by the person having it with them for such use by them or another person without lawful authority or reasonable excuse.

Under section 315 Sentencing Act 2020 ("SA 2020") the court must apply the mandatory minimum sentence for this offence where the offender is aged 16 or over and is convicted of a second offence, under either section 1 PCA 1953, section 139 CJA 1988, section 139A(1) or (2) CJA 1988 or section 6 OWA 2019. Prosecutors should see the below section titled ‘Mandatory minimum sentences' for more detail.

Read on cps.gov.uk

What is an Offensive Weapon?what is an offensive weapon

There are three types of offensive weapons (R v Simpson (Calvin) [1983] EWCA Crim J1028-9):

Those made for use for causing injury to the person, i.e. offensive per se;

Those adapted for such a purpose; and

Those not so made or adapted, but carried with the intention of causing injury to the person (either offensively or defensively).

Read on cps.gov.uk

Bladed articles & offensive weapons (public place) — Sentencing Council guideline

"Offensive weapon" means an article made for causing injury to the person, an article adapted for such use, or an article the person had with them intending it for such use by themself or another — three categories, not just bladed items.
The burden of proving lawful authority or reasonable excuse for having the weapon in a public place lies on the defendant, not the prosecution.
⚠ The original s.1(3) power of arrest is REPEALED for England & Wales (PACE 1984 s.119(2) and Sch 7 Pt I) — do not rely on it. Arrest for this offence is under PACE 1984 s.24.
s.1A — threatening another person with an offensive weapon in a public place — is a separate either-way offence, also carrying a 4-year maximum.

Frequently asked

What are the points to prove for having an offensive weapon in a public place?: Having with you, in a public place, an offensive weapon, without lawful authority or reasonable excuse (s.1 Prevention of Crime Act 1953). The burden of proving lawful authority or reasonable excuse lies on the defendant.
What counts as an 'offensive weapon'?: An article made for causing injury to the person, an article adapted for such use, or an article the person had with them intending it for use by themself or another to cause injury — three categories.
What power do I use to arrest for this offence?: PACE 1984 s.24 — arrest without warrant where you have reasonable grounds to suspect the offence and an arrest is necessary on one of the s.24(5) grounds. The original s.1(3) power of arrest in the Prevention of Crime Act 1953 is repealed for England & Wales and must not be relied on.