Arrested for a Hori Hori.

Bighit

Bighit

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I always fancied one of these for out in the field shooting . Maybe not such a good idea now.
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www.niwaki.com

Hori Hori - Japanese Trowel from Niwaki

Hori Hori - Japanese digging tool, weeding trowel. Niwaki Hori Hori trowel is the all round garden tool that digs, weed and prunes in your garden
www.niwaki.com www.niwaki.com

thedirt.news

Gardener arrested for 'knife' possession

Armed police arrested a gardener returning from his Manchester allotment on account of his gardening tools, which were mistaken for weapons.
thedirt.news thedirt.news
 
Walking around Manchester, with these on display is just asking for trouble. I get it it's a gardening tool but it just looks like a big dagger. If he'd just put in a canvas bag/rucksack he'd never have gotten pulled by plod. Still it's a bloody shame you can't go about your lawful business without some busybody getting their panties in a bunch.
 
It does bring up the need for a bit of clarity on where bladed implement ends and tool begins.
Ok, I get that this thing has a strong resemblance to a dagger and that's more than likely what attracted Mr Plod. but what about.
A spade?
Hedge shears?
He did have a valid reason to have it as he was on his way back from his allotment but maybe self preservation should have told him to put it in a bag.

Just as a side note, my regular metal detecting trowel is one of these,👇 used for sawing through turf so it can be replaced neatly although I have also used it on beaches.
I wear it on my belt
1000008133.png

Designed and sold as a digging implement, nothing more.
 
it is a sign of the times other people doing bad things and then everyone gets tarred with the same brush, police automatically thought they are taking no chances after whats happened with other bladed articles in public 🙁, the other stuff like no duty solicitor is down to our mess of a system /country with funding
 
Reminds me of a case reported a few years ago where a gardener got pulled over and the police found a scythe in his van. Despite the fact that his gardening business was registered and he got several customers to vouch he used the scythe at their properties the police took it to court.
Thankfully the judge gave them a thorough roasting for wasting court time and released the gardener with an apology.
 
If it looks like a dagger, just keep it in a bag and be sensible. Unfortunately this is how society is now so just be careful and don't have it on show, no matter how innocent it is.
 
Yeah, they are prepared to be brave and arrest an elderly gardener for legitimately digging up a few weeds, but try calling them to report several masked intruders are invading your property and it looks like they are armed with knives.

A friend had this response to exactly this situation:
"Oh dear, that sounds very dangerous. Give us a call when they've gone and we will give you a crime number."
Homer face palm
 
TBH if the doughnut walked around the streets in khaki garb and one of these hanging off his belt - he deserved everything he got...🙄

You can try and be as clever as you like claiming it's a gardening implement - but the reality is it's more knife than trowel and with the serrated back probably falls into the 'zombie' knife category.

Plus he ain't in Japan....
 
Neil123 said:
It does bring up the need for a bit of clarity on where bladed implement ends and tool begins.
Click to expand...

The trouble is that the law is an ass.

There's a well known case (Brooker v DPP 2004) where the appeal court upheld a prosecution of someone for having a butter knife in a public place. The court determined that a bladed article does not need a sharp edge or point to fall under the definition.

So, there is no distinction for a tool in law. If an item could be considered to have a "blade" it falls under the legislation regardless, even if the "blade" is not dangerous.
 
Hopefully the people arguing that his arrest was wrong will feel OK with their local criminal or head case elements walking around their local streets with their 'gardening tools'... 🙄
 
weepete said:
The trouble is that the law is an ass.

There's a well known case (Brooker v DPP 2004) where the appeal court upheld a prosecution of someone for having a butter knife in a public place. The court determined that a bladed article does not need a sharp edge or point to fall under the definition.

So, there is no distinction for a tool in law. If an item could be considered to have a "blade" it falls under the legislation regardless, even if the "blade" is not dangerous.
Click to expand...
So anything metal basically.
Or doesn't even have to be metal I suppose, a glass jar of pasta sauce you just bought from the shop could be a potential blade.
I've accidentally done it dozens of times, my work trousers have many, many pockets and I've nipped down to the shop for lunch, put my hand in my pocket to pay and realized there is a screwdriver, Stanley knife or other random tool in there I'd forgotten to take out.
Scary to think a genuine mistake like that could see me locked up for a few years.
Thousands of businesses men walking around with metal fountain pens in their jacket pockets, but I'm guessing they won't be bothering them.
 
I read the story yesterday. What is worse for the chap is he felt compelled to accept the caution so he could go home but also it may now affect his main job.

Probably now faced with massive costs if he wants to contest it to get his record cleaned up.
 
TD_boy said:
Hopefully the people arguing that his arrest was wrong will feel OK with their local criminal or head case elements walking around their local streets with their 'gardening tools'... 🙄
Click to expand...
Well if they are actually gardening then I would be fine with that as they would have a reason to be carrying gardening tools.
 
weepete said:
The trouble is that the law is an ass.

There's a well known case (Brooker v DPP 2004) where the appeal court upheld a prosecution of someone for having a butter knife in a public place. The court determined that a bladed article does not need a sharp edge or point to fall under the definition.

So, there is no distinction for a tool in law. If an item could be considered to have a "blade" it falls under the legislation regardless, even if the "blade" is not dangerous.
Click to expand...
Or a 90 year old, wheelchair bound, one legged dementia patient with the same kind of blunt butter knife.👇
He died a week later.
 
It's that a team of armed officers turned up at his house and started shouting at him to disarm before taking him away in handcuffs. Talk about confused and dazed.
 
TD_boy said:
TBH if the doughnut walked around the streets in khaki garb and one of these hanging off his belt - he deserved everything he got...🙄

You can try and be as clever as you like claiming it's a gardening implement - but the reality is it's more knife than trowel and with the serrated back probably falls into the 'zombie' knife category.

Plus he ain't in Japan....
Click to expand...
Yep, what a two hat trying to be clever, numty dumpty and probably on Weed
 
Neil123 said:
It does bring up the need for a bit of clarity on where bladed implement ends and tool begins.
Ok, I get that this thing has a strong resemblance to a dagger and that's more than likely what attracted Mr Plod. but what about.
A spade?
Hedge shears?
He did have a valid reason to have it as he was on his way back from his allotment but maybe self preservation should have told him to put it in a bag.

Just as a side note, my regular metal detecting trowel is one of these,👇 used for sawing through turf so it can be replaced neatly although I have also used it on beaches.
I wear it on my belt
View attachment 782251
Designed and sold as a digging implement, nothing more.
Click to expand...
If there ever was a Zombie knife, that's it! 😂
 
TD_boy said:
TBH if the doughnut walked around the streets in khaki garb and one of these hanging off his belt - he deserved everything he got...🙄

You can try and be as clever as you like claiming it's a gardening implement - but the reality is it's more knife than trowel and with the serrated back probably falls into the 'zombie' knife category.

Plus he ain't in Japan....
Click to expand...
I have a Hori Hori and a rather lovely thing it is too. Most , like mine , do not have an 8 inch blade so would not have fallen under the " Zombie " knife legislation .

However I can easily see why a member of the public might raise concerns if one were visible in public.
 
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