Police call for outright ban on sale of killer machetes
Police have called for an outright ban on the sale of machetes as part of an “all out assault” on knife crime.
West Midlands Police Federation chair Richard Cooke said vicious blades bought off the internet and from local shops were being increasingly used in serious violence on the region’s streets, including murders.
He said “tighter rules” on the sale of machetes and other weapons such as rainbow knives would help save lives.
Sgt Cooke told the Express & Star: “We have got to fight knife crime on all fronts, and that includes a clampdown on supply.
“It is time to consider banning machetes and these other dangerous bladed weapons outright.”
Policing Minister Chris Philp today revealed plans to launch a consultation on stopping deadly weapons from reaching the streets.
The sale of zombie knives was banned in 2016 following an E&S campaign, with possession punishable by up to four years in prison.
However, machetes – including those with serrated edges – can still be sold to anyone aged over 18 providing they don’t feature any obvious branding.
Sgt Cooke said: “We hear the excuse that these things can be used for gardening, but really? We are seeing these weapons increasingly used in serious crime on our streets, so we need to balance the rights of a very small law-abiding minority who want to own these weapons for legitimate purposes, with the harm that is being done on a daily basis.
“The tragic fact is that the target market for these weapons is young people, and young people are using them to kill each other in the most horrific circumstances. It is blood money as far as I am concerned.”
He has called for the launch of an “all out assault” on knife crime, including the use of “uninhibited” stop and search powers.
In 2022 West Midlands Police recorded 1,894 crimes where machetes were used, according to official figures – around 160 a month.
The weapons have increasingly become a factor in serious crimes, including the murder of 15-year-old Keelan Wilson, who died after being stabbed 43 times in Wolverhampton in May 2018, and Derlano Samuels, 17, who was slain in a machete attack in Smethwick in May 2021.
