A pretty entertaining stop search!

[mick91]

Long story short on Wednesday night, while walking from a friend's house, I was stop searched by the police. Now the officer was well within his rights to stop me, big bloke, dressed mostly in black, walking down a dark alley, at night in a famously pretty dodgy area. All was well as I turned out my pockets, said I didn't have anything dodgy on me, until he came across my EDC. Soon as he saw it he started getting twitchy, reaching for radios and asking why I was carrying a "weapon" it wasn't until I informed him that the knife was perfectly legal to carry, and he asked his mate in the car, that I was let go. With the officer feeling a little foolish when his collegue and i laughed and he said "well if he's robbing someone with that he's doing it wrong!"
The knife, a spyderco? A svord peasent maybe? A lansky world legal? Even better! This toothpick! (10p for scale)

The blade is in fact shorter than my key. Proof in the pudding though that knowing the law can be helpful!

 

[dwardo]

I bet he got ripped for that back at the station.

 

[Macaroon]

I'm so very pleased that I live in the back of beyond and don't have to put up with any of that old nonsense; I feel very fortunate as I don't think I'd react well to that situation.

 

[mick91]

I bet he got ripped for that back at the station.

I imagine so! Give him his dues he was on the ball to even recognise it as a knife and not a keyring

 

[GGTBod]

Thuglife is a tough life

 

[mick91]

I'm so very pleased that I live in the back of beyond and don't have to put up with any of that old nonsense; I feel very fortunate as I don't think I'd react well to that situation.

So long as you're straight up and friendly with them generally speaking it's not a stressful experience and they're usually quite polite about the whole affair. Maybe a touch invasive but if you have nothing to hide and all that. I've had to explain what a fire piston is in the past though when they assumed it to be smoking paraphernalia!

 

[mick91]

Thuglife is a tough life

Gots to go out packin bruv!

 

[Stevie777]

They need a genuine reason to do stop and search. Being a " big bloke, dressed mostly in black, walking down a dark alley, at night in a famously pretty dodgy area" is no reason at all. in fact it's an abuse of powers. I would have taken out the file thing and scuffed up the toe of his shiny boots.

 

[mick91]

They need a genuine reason to do stop and search. Being a " big bloke, dressed mostly in black, walking down a dark alley, at night in a famously pretty dodgy area" is no reason at all. in fact it's an abuse of powers. I would have taken out the file thing and scuffed up the toe of his shiny boots.

Aye I suppose it is but I've found from experience it's best to cooperate. They'll only find a reason anyway! Irritating but hey ho.
That little file is surprisingly useful actually, done everything from picking at nails to filing down a bur on a shotgun ejector with that thing.

 

[GGTBod]

You should have tweasered them both to death for that abuse of power

 

[mick91]

You should have tweasered them both to death for that abuse of power

Use the toothpick like a tiny throwing knife. Its the new victorinox ninja range!

 

[GGTBod]

Lets face it if you can make effective use of that little knife as a lethal weapon you are probably pretty deadly with a toothpick too

 

[mick91]

Lets face it if you can make effective use of that little knife as a lethal weapon you are probably pretty deadly with a toothpick too

If anyone can make effective use of that knife id be concerned when they reached for a paper towel!

 

[GGTBod]

Death by a thousand paper cuts


i'm sure that was an old Shaw Brothers kung fu movie in the 70's

 

[petrochemicals]

Entrapment I should say, he has already put himself at odds with you, probably my biggest gripe with the police, it is not there job to prosecute you, its a courts (habus corpus and all). As for whether you could kill with it, I remember the film hannibal, and the good doctor using a small blade gash in the inner thigh. I think its a stupid law, surely any manual 2 hand opening knife of any reasonable size, lockable or not, are not the targets of police out to look for gang violence, and a reasonable reason is the use its used for when the knife is opened in the hand. I wonder what they would have said if you had a 1lb ball peen hammer.

 

[petrochemicals]

I have to agree with you on the locking front, 3 inches however I would say is fine, wouldn't want more than that day to day. But I don't see how it locking makes it any more dangerous

Kids I gangs want a fixed blade ideally, or at least something that can be opened easily, so when the occasion arises, they can whip it out fast. A swiss knife with 4 tools in the main compartment can't be considered as an easy open, offensive weapon until its open, locking or not. I can see how a locking blade gives you a thrusting advantage, but it doesn't stop sideways swings.

Double post because of a message called "rear retreval failure" or similar.

 

[mick91]

I have to agree with you on the locking front, 3 inches however I would say is fine, wouldn't want more than that day to day. But I don't see how it locking makes it any more dangerous

 

[woof]

You did the right thing, cooperate & get it over with, all the anti's, I hope you don't get burgled/robbed/assaulted, & the criminals get away because of there being no reason to stop said bloke in black in an alley at night....

Rob

 

[mick91]

You did the right thing, cooperate & get it over with, all the anti's, I hope you don't get burgled/robbed/assaulted, & the criminals get away because of there being no reason to stop said bloke in black in an alley at night....

Rob

Always cooperate, they're just doing a job after all. They can ASK you to stop and ASK what you have on you for no reason. They can only MAKE you turn out your pockets with reasonable suspicion. You can say no, but honestly anyone that wants to have a look through my pockets are welcome, nothing that interesting about keys, smokes a wallet and some fluff. Oh and maybe a button

 

[Dave]

I feel safe carrying my swiss army champ, as its the only manufacturer actually mentioned on the governments website as being legal!

https://www.gov.uk/buying-carrying-knives

Basic laws on knives
It is illegal to:

• sell a knife of any kind to anyone under 18 years old (16 to 18 year olds in Scotland can buy cutlery and kitchen knives)
• carry a knife in public without good reason - unless it’s a knife with a folding blade 3 inches long (7.62 cm) or less, eg a Swiss Army knife
• carry, buy or sell any type of banned knife
• use any knife in a threatening way (even a legal knife, such as a Swiss Army knife)

Now honestly Mick, did you mention your profession?
I wonder what would have happened if you did not?
Would you have been treated as well?