The provisions of the act include:
Part 1 • Making it an offence to sell a corrosive product to any person under the age of 18. • A person found guilty of this offence, on
summary conviction and in
England and Wales, is liable to a prison term of no more than 51 weeks, a fine or both. In Scotland or Northern Ireland, the prison term is not to be more than 6 months. • Regulating the despatch and delivery of corrosive products. • Making it an offence for a person to have a corrosive substance in a public place unless they can prove they had a good reason or lawful authority to do so (Section 6). • In this context "corrosive substance" means a substance which is capable of burning human skin by corrosion. • Making provisions for custodial sentences after a person is convicted of an offence under section 6. • Amending the
Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 to include reference to Section 6 and allow for police searches for corrosive substances if an offence under Section 6 has been committed, is being committed or is likely to be committed. • Allows constables in Scotland to detain and search a person without a warrant if there is reasonable grounds for suspecting that the person is carrying a corrosive substance or has committed or is committing an offence under Section 6. • This section also allows constables to seize any substances found during a search if it can be reasonably suspected that the substance is corrosive.
Part 2 • Allowing courts to make a
knife crime prevention order without passing conviction. • Establishing requirements for the applications of such orders. • Allowing courts to make a knife crime prevention order with convictions. • Establishing the provisions and requirements of knife crime prevention orders.
Part 3 • Establishing defences and their limitations to persons charged with selling a bladed article to a person under the age of 18. • Regulating the despatch and delivery of bladed products. • Defining that a "bladed product" in the Act means an article which: • (a) is or has a blade, and • (b) is capable of causing a serious injury to a person which involves cutting that person's skin.
Part 4 • Amending the definition of "
flick knife" from the
Restriction of Offensive Weapons Act 1959 to be: • Any knife which has a blade which opens automatically— • (i) from the closed position to the fully opened position, or • (ii) from a partially opened position to the fully opened position, • by manual pressure applied to a button, spring or other device in or attached to the knife • Amending the
Restriction of Offensive Weapons Act 1959 in respect to the possession of dangerous knives. • Increasing the restrictions of the
Criminal Justice Act 1988 in respect to the possession of offensive weapons on school premises to cover
further education premises. • Increasing the powers of the
Home Secretary, the
Scottish Ministers and the
Department of Justice in Northern Ireland in regards to the arranging of the "orderly surrender" of offensive weapons at
police stations. • The establishment of payments to persons surrendering weapons which would become illegal due to the amendment of the
Restriction of Offensive Weapons Act 1959.
Part 5 • Amending the
Prevention of Crime Act 1953 in regards to the threatening with an offensive weapon in a public place. • Amending the
Criminal Justice Act 1988 in regards to the threatening with an offensive weapon on education premises. • Making it an offence to, while in a private place, unlawfully and intentionally threaten another with an article or substance in a way that there would be an immediate risk of serious harm to the other person. • In this context, "an article or substance" is defined as:
Part 6 • Amending the
Firearms Act 1968 and the
Firearms (Northern Ireland) Order 2004 to prohibit firearms that use the propellant gas to extract the spent casing (except rifles in .22 rimfire) and
bump stocks. • Making provisions for the surrender of and compensation for the above items that were now illegal.
Part 7 • Allowing local
weights and measures authorities to enforce laws relating to the sale of offensive weapons. ==Timetable==