The article conveniently fails to mention whether it was sharp (extremely unlikely, the cheap steel used for these can't really hold an edge), and even more conveniently crops out the tip of the "blade" so we can't even see if it was pointed (also extremely unlikely, toys like this almost always have blunted tips).
This isn't a weapon, it's a toy. Sure, you could hurt someone with it, just like you could hurt someone with a baseball bat.
I reckon the police wanted to bust him for some other reason. The Master Sword was just their excuse.
Before he obtains the tri-force of power and becomes unstoppable.
Police has that discretion and it is ripe for abuse.
That why there is the advice to "only do one crime at a time" I guess!
The term crime lost a lot of its meaning somewhere between 10 commandments and now...
I guess dude committed a crime here but most people prolly would not really care.
While others commit bigger crimes and we care, nothing gets done.
If you have lots of crimes on the books and police have enforcement discretion, that’s a recipe for targeting whoever they want.
I'm sure chief detective Ganon had a perfectly good reason. :)
His real crime was "Walking down the street whilst looking working class".
I'm guessing it's pretty much a letter opener. From a read, letter openers count, and many people are mocking the idea of a letter opener being included in such a ban.
The blade was only 6 inches that's a master dagger at best lmao
Four months in prison for getting caught on CCTV fidgeting with a sheathed letter opener
The handle is just 4cm or about 1.5 inches, so a grown man can't even hold it in his hand properly, it is clearly a kids toy. He may have used for role playing, although he called it a fidget toy?
But beware of the master claymore
That’s called a Biggoron sword
dammit i said the same thing independently, but you were first by 12 hours. hats off to you, sir !
victim surcharge of £154.
WHAT VICTIM??? The article says nothing of him doing anything to others. To my knowledge he didn't attack anyone. There's no victim!
He is the victim. It's a charge on him.
Soooooo, either he should get the money, as the victim, or the charge is basically police charging victims money for being victims.
.....I feel like I'm missing something here.
This "victim surcharge" would be termed court cost or court fee in the US.
Oh, I wasn't accusing you of lying. I was just saying it's such a strange name for a charge that has a legitimate purpose, but is named in a way that has nothing to do with that purpose.
Kinda like if you took an uber, and they charged you for the "poopy diaper charge". And you say nobody on your trip even wore a diaper. So the driver tells you it's so he can refill his gas in the car.
Victims of every crime that has one.
It's a fund for paying compensation to victims of crime and £154 is just what you have to pay to it if you get jailed for 6 months or below.
So when someone does commit a crime that has a payout to a victim, it doesn't matter if they have money or not as it comes from the fund to the victim first.
Kinda like... If you got hit with an extra vehicle/traffic insurance bill every time you get a speeding ticket or get caught driving drunk, even if you didn't cause an accident.
Oh, ok. Thats a far better description than the other guy said of just "court costs".
I would say that America needs something like that, but, I just can't see the money ACTUALLY going to victims. I see some policeman, or politician, or whomever, pocketing it if they tried that here.
Good feckin point!
I don't know if this is the same but Sweden have a thing where you pay into a fund that helps victims of crimes. When a criminal gets convicted and has to pay a victim money, the state takes money out of the fund and pay the victim and then the fund tries to get the money from the criminal. This way it doesn't become the victims problem that the criminal can't pay.
With a bit more self-awareness, Bray could have avoided contact with us completely.”
With a shred of brain matter, Sgt Spellman and the bastards he works with, could have not pursued such a ridiculous “crime”.
This is not a ridiculous crime, that guy is dumb af and dangerous.
This is a bot account folks.
True, I'd still give them partial credit for the dumb statement.
Law says you can't carry a knife bigger than 3 in. He carries a knife twice that size.
Does he carry concealed in his pocket?
No, He's walking around carrying it openly pretending he's a blade master, oh sorry that's he claims it's a fidget toy.
4 months in jail seems a bit excessive, but when the law says don't carry a weapon and you carry a weapon...
Bot, or just a troll? Been seeing a lot of them recently.
Four months of prison? It sounds like the man is disconnected from reality but hardly a real threat to society.
Seriously. I've seen letter openers more threatening than that "sword". Was it dumb? Sure. Does he deserve a slap the wrist, absolutely. But prison?? No way. What the actual fuck?
The stupid thing is that the UK is literally running out of prison spaces currently so that we are considering letting long term prisioners out on licence early to free up room.
Yet apparently this man needs to have his life turned upsidedown in order to occupy one of those spaces for four months.
The cells are probably crammed full of cosplayers, student protestors and journalists. Remember that massive ruckus and manhunt for thee guy who was wandering around in a gimp suit making people feel uncomfortable?
"Our prisons have never been safer!"
It's OK though because as soon as the prison guards turn their backs on him he will immediately escape on an eight inch paraglider.
gotta throw the book at him to get the numbers up so they look better when it comes to ignoring serious crime.
Draconian laws do be like that.
In addition to the four months in prison, he was required to pay a victim surcharge of £154.
So not only was there no victim here but himself he is also now out of work for a minimum of 4 months he's now out 154 bucks. Fuck this world. Like ya, I get that there is that law for a reason, so sure, maybe give him a fine or better yet community service and then let him be on his way. What they have done benefits no one at all and wastes local resources.
Victim surcharge is just a fine with another name.
It goes to a fund that pays compensation for victims of crimes and £154 is just what you have to pay for any crime that results in you getting a jail sentence of 6 months or below.
Sounds reasonable.
bucks
Quid. We gotta be respectful.
I know people are reacting strongly, prob a large US contingent here and that’s understandable. It is a completely different world in the UK. The police don’t carry firearms (specialist response teams do) as they are just not as available to the general public. Knives or clubs/bats are the most common weapon encountered.
Even in that context I too find the sentence pretty heavy on the face of it. The article was rubbish at giving anything other than rage-bait. It didn’t explain if there were circumstances of aggravation, does he have form (ie prior same or related offences), were there vulnerable people in the vicinity, which specific charge was he accused with (possessing or threatening with) did he plead guilty, were there mitigating factors that actually reduced his sentence as the mandatory minimum sentence for “threatening with a weapon” is six months, eg did he cooperate, is he a sole caregiver for someone at home etc.
Only thing I’ve walked away knowing is the author of the article seemed more interested in provoking outrage and upping their hit count than demonstrating any investigative
nous or journalistic integrity.
Even though we have the gun nuts all over this fucked up country, we do manage to far outscore the UK on per capita knife crime as well. Yay us. I agree with your take on the motivation for the article.
Nobody called. It was seen on CCTV. So someone saw him playing with his lil' master sword and decided to fuck him.
Sometimes, when I'm not careful, I end up with stupid, dangerous UK-legal pocket knives so I'm always going to be critical of your auth bullshit.
Bit draconian hey. I admit the whole thing was stupid but considering he didn't hurt anyone with this toy or show intention to do so a fine alone would have been more than enough. 4 months prison? Wtf
It's the UK. They used to just aim guys like this at Scotland.
Have police there never heard of a "letter opener"? 🤔
There's a reason "zero tolerance" is also called "zero intelligence".
Have police there never heard of a “letter opener”? 🤔
At this point, a significant number of them are young enough to have never opened a letter in their lives, so possibly. But this is still extremely stupid.
it was only 15cm long. that's at best a Master Dagger, not a master sword! still too long to be legal to carry out in public though.
It may be only a few centimeters, but you know what it could do if fully charged*.
(*I know, that's what he said or something)
That old man lying motherfucker...
Ah yes, another victory for zero tolerance policies.
Everything about this is asinine.
4 months in prison for having a novelty pocket knife
And for some reason the prisons are full...
Not for simply having, but for brandishing said bladed device as the police approached. That's the law, in that city. As the officer said, “It is possible to find fidget toys that aren’t six-inch blades. It is possible not to walk down the street holding them out in front of you. With a bit more self-awareness, Bray could have avoided contact with us completely.” Bray brought this on himself, and could have avoided any contact with the police. He chose otherwise.
Brandish is a stretch nothing in that article noted an intent to intimidate others, it is simple possession of a tchotchke. Unless you count the author's flavor text.
I'm just reading the article, as you were also able to do, and it says, "On 8 June, officers were made aware via CCTV of a man, Bray, walking down Queens Road, Nuneaton, with the sword in his hand. Bray approached officers with the blade visible, at which point he was arrested." Bold added for emphasis. If I were out in public in the UK, and if I happened to have a bladed implement, I'd keep it out of sight. Especially if there were police anywhere nearby. But hey, you can do as you please. Have a nice day!
The blade was inside a sheath and could be released from the sheath with the press of a button.
And approached could simply be he was intent on walking past them on the sidewalk.
Just to be clear this was not in the US. Their weapons laws are way more restrictive then ours. Apparently he was brandishing it and approached police with it. Sounds like he is a moron.
That would be relevant if it was a weapon.
It still wouldn't be WORLD NEWS.
The world needs a laugh sometimes.
It was 20 cm long. Or about the length of 2 toothpicks. 'Brandishing'?
I think I need a box of these novelty toothpicks
I think they're actually chop sticks.
Wait, your toothpicks are about 4 inches long? Is this another case of everything is bigger in America?
6 inches divided by 2 is 3 inches. Not far off from the 2.5" toothpicks I see frequently in Asia. YMMV re American toothpicks.
Oh, the article said 6 inches. I was going by what you said, which was 20 cm. That is closer to 8 inches.
If it's 6 inches, your comment made much more sense.
Ah. Probably the difference between the length of the thing entire and the length of the blade alone.
That's way longer. 20cm is the average blade length for chef's knives. Over here in Germany, with way more liberal knife laws: Legal to own (duh) but also very much not legal to carry much less wield in public unless you have a good reason -- like actually preparing food in public. You can transport that kind of thing without fanfare but transporting very much involves not having it at the ready.
Four months are still completely overkill, though. Impounding and maybe a week's worth of fine (one day of disposable income == one day in prison here) if he was being stupid and careless but non-aggressive. Four months go way beyond "let this be a lesson" territory and very much into "the state is nuts and doesn't make sense". If you're feeling poetic, how about some social hours in a charity store sorting donated fidget spinners.
That's 20 cm including the hilt. Roughly 15 cm for the blade by itself. And about 1 cm thick. Most likely with no sharp edge to speak of, since it was a toy and I'm sure the dumbass police would have made a point of it if it had.
In other words, 'wielding' it in public is about as threatening as carrying a particularly stiff twig. Probably less, considering the size of the hilt.
15cm is still 3cm more than what's allowed to carry without good reason. Replica or sharp doesn't matter in this context because the question isn't whether you could hurt someone but whether the public might worry you're going to hurt someone. You could reasonably argue that it has toy colours and therefore doesn't count as replica but looking at the image you're relying a lot on goodwill, there.
Also, a particularly stiff twig is a blunt weapon. You're not supposed to run around with broomsticks if you're not doing any actual sweeping, either. Or hang out in an dim underpass with baseball bats unless you're an actual baseball player and are waiting for the train to your game or something.
You're not supposed to run around with broomsticks if you're not doing any actual sweeping, either. Or hang out in a dim underpass with baseball bats unless you're an actual baseball player and are waiting for the train to your game or something.
Wow. Yeah glad we don’t have that ridiculousness in the USA. I’ll spend the day celebrating revolting against that tyrannical attitude.
Do you currently spend your day celebrating revolting against even a fraction of the BS you're exposed to? Not willing to even protest against the various injustices in your country, but your right to be a mall ninja, that is where you draw the line?
Lay down your neckbeard, trenchcoat, fedora, and katana, good sir, and have some perspective. Like, arm the homeless or something.
Ok friend. I was being cute. Today is our Independence Day so I made that last sentence.
I’m a recovered alcoholic with 11 years sober next month. I’ve lived on the streets before. Slept in gutters. I spend a lot of time working with the homeless and addiction community now. That’s my biggest fight.
That said, yes, I’ll defend a mall ninjas right to carry painted toothpicks or katanas all the same.
That’s what the article said 😂
MASTER SWORD = 22 cm or 8.6 inches including handle and holster.
We also have very strict knife regulation here (Denmark), but I think if it is a first time offense, he would have gotten off with a fine, since it's obviously a toy.
Most youths who are involved in crime carry a knife for protection. This means that if the police want to arrest one of them, for whatever reason, they can because they will likely find a knife on them.
I see. Is this pure fear behind it or is there some evidence that the law is beneficial?
But yeah, another good pretext for harassing the young and/or poors.
Reminds of war on drugs until police started doing to the all "children" in the US and that attitude changed pretty quick.
That's what all these articles missed, this isn't a first offense, the man is a known burglar, did 4 years previously
Some NotTheOnion type shit.
At least it didn’t break in the middle of fighting a Lynel.
.
If you were caught with the blade visible in public, you could be arrested. I also carry a leatherman, and ensure it is never visible.
Yeah, I'm careful to never whip out my 3" in public.
I feel like he could have been let off with a fine and confiscation where if he would do it again or act provocatively the prison sentence would apply. 4 months in prison is a lot
A suspended prison sentence makes too much sense. Gotta teach this nerd a lesson.
The image in the article shows the entire thing being 20cm and the actual 'blade' portion of the toy being around 13cm long. a little longer than the blade on a pretty standard multi tool like a Leatherman.
Is this seriously what the police were actually concerned about, I understand that it's different in the UK vs the US, but this is definitely overkill. This thing would need to be pinched between your thumb and index finger like a cigarette to be wielded and is arguably less dangerous than a fork.
They're only allowed to have 7.62 cm, so from a legal standpoint it's almost twice the legal limit.
If the law doesn't make sense you don't challenge it by breaking it.
The police don't carry guns there so yeah they're concerned.
Running around twirling a clearly illegal item in public is pretty good logical grounds for police intervention. If the law says 3 in when do you actually stop them is it 4, 10, 12? If he was just transporting it from one house to another they might have let it go. But he's walking around fidgeting twirling it in the open. I suspect he was performing twirls and dagger tricks. So the general public is probably also a little concerned. If he's walking around his neighborhood twirling it around all the time it might even been a neighbor that called the police on it.
The fine is reasonable, getting locked up for 4 months is probably a bit much.
America is stupid for excessive guns. But this is stupid in the other direction. Talk about over policing. Fuck me this is stupid
Prison? For this?
Just take it away and warn him. How did no one along the way protest the heavy handedness of this?
I agree with your point seeing as how the article dosen't have this info, but the context that He's a known burglar, has done at least 4 years in prison and 'but it's just a novelty item' has been a tactic of criminals in England for a long time, it makes more sense why he was busted.
Oh, I guess I was assuming it wasn't even sharp, like an actual novelty item.
It's sharp metal, 6in. So roughly hand size, it's more like a custom figurine type of deal.
I'm surprised Nintendo's lawyers didn't get to him before the police.
Lol finally, we can keep these dorks off the streets. Everyone can feel safe now
/s
The Blade of Evil's Bane should be carried by everyone at this point.
Why so extreme? At most it should've been confiscated and given a small fine.
If I’d encounter someone wielding a naked 15cm blade, I’d be extremely wary as well. That blade can easily cause serious harm or kill, regardless of being a replica toy or not. Walking around with what is essentially a dagger is reckless. Maybe the sentence is a bit harsh, but that dude deserved being stopped.
Can’t pretty much everything around you cause serious harm or kill??? I don’t understand this stance.
Yes, you're right everything can cause serious harm or kill, but certain things are designed to harm or kill, or designed to look like something that could harm or kill.
Context is a big factor here. A person holding a 6 inch knife in a kitchen? No one is going to bat an eye. They're probably using that knife to prep vegetables. Same knife, same person but they are walking around a market/playground/movie theatre? Suddenly it's a very different situation and context.
Is that stranger with the knife safe? I don't know, but I do know that I don't have anything to defend myself aside from what is around me if they ARE NOT a safe person.
There is nothing wrong with running around swinging knives simply because you want to. That’s just freedom, and it’s ok.
I don't have anything to defend myself
So instead of arming yourself, you’re trying to disarm the rest of the world? Why take that difficult path instead of the easy way?
So instead of arming yourself
Yeah no wonder America is a lost cause in terms of violence. How or why would anyone arm themselves when they're already in a public place?
To protect yourself and others from crazies. Because crazies can and will use anything and everything as a weapon.
And how come the crazies exist nonetheless and do all that kind of stuff somewhat independently of other people being armed?
Also, these same crazies, in other countries, tend to be unarmed (besides kitchen weapons). Would you prefer to defend against one with a gun or one with a knife?
If someone in those countries is caught in shady circumstances carrying any sort of substantial blade, that person is in trouble. If someone in a "freedom country" is caught carrying a gun under the same shady circumstances, that person walks free as that's not illegal by itself.
And how come the crazies exist nonetheless and do all that kind of stuff somewhat independently of other people being armed?
A mix of mental health issues and standard human nature.
Would you prefer to defend against one with a gun or one with a knife?
One with a knife. But my preference of enemy arms does not negate that enemy’s right to defend themself with a gun. I’d also prefer that no one ever hurt anyone else, but my preference there cannot be guaranteed.
And yes, correct, in the USA we can have guns.
I'm not so sure that standard human nature is that prevalent in some countries, independently of guns.
In Switzerland everyone has guns and weirdos are not much of a thing. People aren't even carrying them. It would be a weirdo has gun Vs you have no gun. However, given that it is publicly known that any misuse of the said guns is gravely punished (and that they treat properly people with mental health issues) that's not a common thing.
You say you prefer relatively less armed weirdos. However prefer the solution where both of you can have lethal weapons and have to provide no justification whatsoever to carry them.
You: "Mr. officer, That hat guy, he tried to assault me, he has a gun".
Off: "Did you?".
Guy: "Nope".
Off: "Do you have any proof or witnesses?".
You: "Nope".
Off: "Both free to go"
In a no-guns country it goes like
You: "Mr. officer, That hat guy, he tried to assault me, he has a knife".
Off: [checks for knife]
"Come with me"
I agree with the first two paragraphs. USA is going down the shitter in dealing with crazies.
I understand the point you’re attempting with the rest of your comment but I disagree it’s a plausible scenario or problem.
It very much is plausible. Source: I live in a country that has been considered the "safest country on the world" a few times (that's Portugal if you're curious).
You can get into fist fights in the night zones et all and police officers are not going to care about it. Unless someone is caught in the act, nobody is going to do much as long as nothing is anywhere near lethal.
But the moment anyone has a knife, that's going to be a trip with the officers and ends up on record. Being caught with a gun without a very good excuse is the end of the line. High chance you get to serve time over it, just for having a gun. Or anything else really.
Knuckles? Pepper spray? Stun gun? You're likely to serve time over that. Very least, community service.
And it... Just... Works? Every time anyone annoying comes by asking for anything you can just carry on, completely ignoring the person. What exactly can they do?
A good part of those annoying fellas do so because of tourists. They know that if they sound threatening to tourists, some of them will think that they're being robbed. They're not. Just carry on with your life that you're fairly guaranteed that there no such thing as a weapon anywhere close.
I hear you. But my experiences are all very similar. There are still fights, and guns and knives being involved is VERY rare unless you’re in a bad area.
In fact, check this out, I’m in my mid 40s and I’ve never even seen a gun on anyone who isn’t a police officer or military. I’ve been in fights. I’ve lived homeless on the streets of Baltimore. I ignore annoying people.
Is my experience everyone’s? No. But the rest of the world acts like it’s some major daily problem everyone deals with over here. It’s not.
Public safety.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
A man has been jailed for brandishing a replica of a sword from the Nintendo game The Legend of Zelda on the streets of a Warwickshire market town, which he said was a “fidget toy” to keep his hands busy.
Anthony Bray, 48, of Nuneaton, was sentenced to four months in prison after being found in possession of a bladed article in public.
The article in question was a replica of the “master sword” from The Legend of Zelda series which had a total blade length of 6in, Warwickshire police said.
On 8 June, officers were made aware via CCTV of a man, Bray, walking down Queens Road, Nuneaton, with the sword in his hand.
Sgt Spellman, of the patrol investigations unit, said: “We take a zero tolerance [approach] to bladed articles in public, and Bray has fallen afoul of this.
Police said Bray admitted that the sword could be perceived as threatening if someone else had seen it, but he insisted in interviews he would not have used it as a weapon.
The original article contains 290 words, the summary contains 173 words. Saved 40%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!
Too bad he's a criminal now or id tell em to come to merica where he can carry a real pistol like a big boy
It's dangerous to go alone! take this.
hands Link a glock
Damn, Act Man really let himself go.
Should have carried the gun blade from FF8 and it be protected under the 2nd amendment.
In the UK?
To be fair they used to have a right acknowledged in the 1689 Bill of Rights
Its amazing how the colonists were basically just "Lets be Englishmen.....but over there instead. And we'll do all the same stuff, but also totally different."
And John Adams said "Will there be alchohol?"
And then George Washington said "One day we'll even name a beer after you."
Then Benjamin Franklin went off to France to get laid a whole bunch. It was pretty easy to get laid in France in the 1770s if you just showed up, and said you're leading a revolution against the British, and overthrowing monarchy power. Just tons of pusspuss and fine wine to go around.
.......what were we talking about?
They considered themselves to be Englishmen, and have the rights of one, even after the Battle of Bunker Hill for some time. Also you're thinking of Sam Adams, who was a brewer. But Franklin is pretty much dead on the money. Didn't even wear a wig just showed up all slovenly and slayed.
2nd amendment of what? The Magna Carta?
I mean that's what the US Supreme court cites when overturning our rights so why can't the UK do the same?
The article conveniently fails to mention whether it was sharp (extremely unlikely, the cheap steel used for these can't really hold an edge), and even more conveniently crops out the tip of the "blade" so we can't even see if it was pointed (also extremely unlikely, toys like this almost always have blunted tips).
This isn't a weapon, it's a toy. Sure, you could hurt someone with it, just like you could hurt someone with a baseball bat.
I reckon the police wanted to bust him for some other reason. The Master Sword was just their excuse.
Before he obtains the tri-force of power and becomes unstoppable.
Police has that discretion and it is ripe for abuse.
That why there is the advice to "only do one crime at a time" I guess!
The term crime lost a lot of its meaning somewhere between 10 commandments and now...
I guess dude committed a crime here but most people prolly would not really care.
While others commit bigger crimes and we care, nothing gets done.
If you have lots of crimes on the books and police have enforcement discretion, that’s a recipe for targeting whoever they want.
I'm sure chief detective Ganon had a perfectly good reason. :)
His real crime was "Walking down the street whilst looking working class".
Washington Post had a better picture: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/07/04/zelda-master-sword-jail-nuneaton/
I'm guessing it's pretty much a letter opener. From a read, letter openers count, and many people are mocking the idea of a letter opener being included in such a ban.
The blade was only 6 inches that's a master dagger at best lmao
Four months in prison for getting caught on CCTV fidgeting with a sheathed letter opener
The handle is just 4cm or about 1.5 inches, so a grown man can't even hold it in his hand properly, it is clearly a kids toy. He may have used for role playing, although he called it a fidget toy?
But beware of the master claymore
That’s called a Biggoron sword
dammit i said the same thing independently, but you were first by 12 hours. hats off to you, sir !
WHAT VICTIM??? The article says nothing of him doing anything to others. To my knowledge he didn't attack anyone. There's no victim!
He is the victim. It's a charge on him.
Soooooo, either he should get the money, as the victim, or the charge is basically police charging victims money for being victims.
.....I feel like I'm missing something here.
This "victim surcharge" would be termed court cost or court fee in the US.
What a strange name if thats the purpose.
I don't make things up, I just look them up.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victim_surcharge
https://www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk/sentencing-and-the-council/types-of-sentence/other-orders-made-on-sentencing/what-is-the-victim-surcharge/ -
Oh, I wasn't accusing you of lying. I was just saying it's such a strange name for a charge that has a legitimate purpose, but is named in a way that has nothing to do with that purpose.
Kinda like if you took an uber, and they charged you for the "poopy diaper charge". And you say nobody on your trip even wore a diaper. So the driver tells you it's so he can refill his gas in the car.
Victims of every crime that has one.
It's a fund for paying compensation to victims of crime and £154 is just what you have to pay to it if you get jailed for 6 months or below.
So when someone does commit a crime that has a payout to a victim, it doesn't matter if they have money or not as it comes from the fund to the victim first.
Kinda like... If you got hit with an extra vehicle/traffic insurance bill every time you get a speeding ticket or get caught driving drunk, even if you didn't cause an accident.
Oh, ok. Thats a far better description than the other guy said of just "court costs".
I would say that America needs something like that, but, I just can't see the money ACTUALLY going to victims. I see some policeman, or politician, or whomever, pocketing it if they tried that here.
Good feckin point!
I don't know if this is the same but Sweden have a thing where you pay into a fund that helps victims of crimes. When a criminal gets convicted and has to pay a victim money, the state takes money out of the fund and pay the victim and then the fund tries to get the money from the criminal. This way it doesn't become the victims problem that the criminal can't pay.
With a shred of brain matter, Sgt Spellman and the bastards he works with, could have not pursued such a ridiculous “crime”.
This is not a ridiculous crime, that guy is dumb af and dangerous.
This is a bot account folks.
True, I'd still give them partial credit for the dumb statement.
Law says you can't carry a knife bigger than 3 in. He carries a knife twice that size.
Does he carry concealed in his pocket?
No, He's walking around carrying it openly pretending he's a blade master, oh sorry that's he claims it's a fidget toy.
4 months in jail seems a bit excessive, but when the law says don't carry a weapon and you carry a weapon...
Bot, or just a troll? Been seeing a lot of them recently.
Four months of prison? It sounds like the man is disconnected from reality but hardly a real threat to society.
Seriously. I've seen letter openers more threatening than that "sword". Was it dumb? Sure. Does he deserve a slap the wrist, absolutely. But prison?? No way. What the actual fuck?
The stupid thing is that the UK is literally running out of prison spaces currently so that we are considering letting long term prisioners out on licence early to free up room.
Yet apparently this man needs to have his life turned upsidedown in order to occupy one of those spaces for four months.
The cells are probably crammed full of cosplayers, student protestors and journalists. Remember that massive ruckus and manhunt for thee guy who was wandering around in a gimp suit making people feel uncomfortable?
"Our prisons have never been safer!"
It's OK though because as soon as the prison guards turn their backs on him he will immediately escape on an eight inch paraglider.
gotta throw the book at him to get the numbers up so they look better when it comes to ignoring serious crime.
Draconian laws do be like that.
So not only was there no victim here but himself he is also now out of work for a minimum of 4 months he's now out 154 bucks. Fuck this world. Like ya, I get that there is that law for a reason, so sure, maybe give him a fine or better yet community service and then let him be on his way. What they have done benefits no one at all and wastes local resources.
Victim surcharge is just a fine with another name.
It goes to a fund that pays compensation for victims of crimes and £154 is just what you have to pay for any crime that results in you getting a jail sentence of 6 months or below.
Sounds reasonable.
Quid. We gotta be respectful.
I know people are reacting strongly, prob a large US contingent here and that’s understandable. It is a completely different world in the UK. The police don’t carry firearms (specialist response teams do) as they are just not as available to the general public. Knives or clubs/bats are the most common weapon encountered. Even in that context I too find the sentence pretty heavy on the face of it. The article was rubbish at giving anything other than rage-bait. It didn’t explain if there were circumstances of aggravation, does he have form (ie prior same or related offences), were there vulnerable people in the vicinity, which specific charge was he accused with (possessing or threatening with) did he plead guilty, were there mitigating factors that actually reduced his sentence as the mandatory minimum sentence for “threatening with a weapon” is six months, eg did he cooperate, is he a sole caregiver for someone at home etc.
Only thing I’ve walked away knowing is the author of the article seemed more interested in provoking outrage and upping their hit count than demonstrating any investigative nous or journalistic integrity.
Even though we have the gun nuts all over this fucked up country, we do manage to far outscore the UK on per capita knife crime as well. Yay us. I agree with your take on the motivation for the article.
Nobody called. It was seen on CCTV. So someone saw him playing with his lil' master sword and decided to fuck him.
Sometimes, when I'm not careful, I end up with stupid, dangerous UK-legal pocket knives so I'm always going to be critical of your auth bullshit.
Bit draconian hey. I admit the whole thing was stupid but considering he didn't hurt anyone with this toy or show intention to do so a fine alone would have been more than enough. 4 months prison? Wtf
It's the UK. They used to just aim guys like this at Scotland.
Have police there never heard of a "letter opener"? 🤔
There's a reason "zero tolerance" is also called "zero intelligence".
At this point, a significant number of them are young enough to have never opened a letter in their lives, so possibly. But this is still extremely stupid.
it was only 15cm long. that's at best a Master Dagger, not a master sword! still too long to be legal to carry out in public though.
It may be only a few centimeters, but you know what it could do if fully charged*.
(*I know, that's what he said or something)
That old man lying motherfucker...
Ah yes, another victory for zero tolerance policies.
Everything about this is asinine.
4 months in prison for having a novelty pocket knife
And for some reason the prisons are full...
Not for simply having, but for brandishing said bladed device as the police approached. That's the law, in that city. As the officer said, “It is possible to find fidget toys that aren’t six-inch blades. It is possible not to walk down the street holding them out in front of you. With a bit more self-awareness, Bray could have avoided contact with us completely.” Bray brought this on himself, and could have avoided any contact with the police. He chose otherwise.
Brandish is a stretch nothing in that article noted an intent to intimidate others, it is simple possession of a tchotchke. Unless you count the author's flavor text.
I'm just reading the article, as you were also able to do, and it says, "On 8 June, officers were made aware via CCTV of a man, Bray, walking down Queens Road, Nuneaton, with the sword in his hand. Bray approached officers with the blade visible, at which point he was arrested." Bold added for emphasis. If I were out in public in the UK, and if I happened to have a bladed implement, I'd keep it out of sight. Especially if there were police anywhere nearby. But hey, you can do as you please. Have a nice day!
And approached could simply be he was intent on walking past them on the sidewalk.
Just to be clear this was not in the US. Their weapons laws are way more restrictive then ours. Apparently he was brandishing it and approached police with it. Sounds like he is a moron.
That would be relevant if it was a weapon.
It still wouldn't be WORLD NEWS.
The world needs a laugh sometimes.
It was 20 cm long. Or about the length of 2 toothpicks. 'Brandishing'?
I think I need a box of these novelty toothpicks
I think they're actually chop sticks.
Wait, your toothpicks are about 4 inches long? Is this another case of everything is bigger in America?
6 inches divided by 2 is 3 inches. Not far off from the 2.5" toothpicks I see frequently in Asia. YMMV re American toothpicks.
Oh, the article said 6 inches. I was going by what you said, which was 20 cm. That is closer to 8 inches.
If it's 6 inches, your comment made much more sense.
Ah. Probably the difference between the length of the thing entire and the length of the blade alone.
That's way longer. 20cm is the average blade length for chef's knives. Over here in Germany, with way more liberal knife laws: Legal to own (duh) but also very much not legal to carry much less wield in public unless you have a good reason -- like actually preparing food in public. You can transport that kind of thing without fanfare but transporting very much involves not having it at the ready.
Four months are still completely overkill, though. Impounding and maybe a week's worth of fine (one day of disposable income == one day in prison here) if he was being stupid and careless but non-aggressive. Four months go way beyond "let this be a lesson" territory and very much into "the state is nuts and doesn't make sense". If you're feeling poetic, how about some social hours in a charity store sorting donated fidget spinners.
That's 20 cm including the hilt. Roughly 15 cm for the blade by itself. And about 1 cm thick. Most likely with no sharp edge to speak of, since it was a toy and I'm sure the dumbass police would have made a point of it if it had.
In other words, 'wielding' it in public is about as threatening as carrying a particularly stiff twig. Probably less, considering the size of the hilt.
15cm is still 3cm more than what's allowed to carry without good reason. Replica or sharp doesn't matter in this context because the question isn't whether you could hurt someone but whether the public might worry you're going to hurt someone. You could reasonably argue that it has toy colours and therefore doesn't count as replica but looking at the image you're relying a lot on goodwill, there.
Also, a particularly stiff twig is a blunt weapon. You're not supposed to run around with broomsticks if you're not doing any actual sweeping, either. Or hang out in an dim underpass with baseball bats unless you're an actual baseball player and are waiting for the train to your game or something.
Wow. Yeah glad we don’t have that ridiculousness in the USA. I’ll spend the day celebrating revolting against that tyrannical attitude.
Do you currently spend your day celebrating revolting against even a fraction of the BS you're exposed to? Not willing to even protest against the various injustices in your country, but your right to be a mall ninja, that is where you draw the line?
Lay down your neckbeard, trenchcoat, fedora, and katana, good sir, and have some perspective. Like, arm the homeless or something.
Ok friend. I was being cute. Today is our Independence Day so I made that last sentence.
I’m a recovered alcoholic with 11 years sober next month. I’ve lived on the streets before. Slept in gutters. I spend a lot of time working with the homeless and addiction community now. That’s my biggest fight.
That said, yes, I’ll defend a mall ninjas right to carry painted toothpicks or katanas all the same.
That’s what the article said 😂
MASTER SWORD = 22 cm or 8.6 inches including handle and holster.
We also have very strict knife regulation here (Denmark), but I think if it is a first time offense, he would have gotten off with a fine, since it's obviously a toy.
Seems like a perfect place for role playing games!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warwickshire#/media/File:Kenilworth_Castle_(cropped).jpg
Wiki page:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warwickshire
What is the aim of the regulation?
Does it cover dense urban areas only?
Most youths who are involved in crime carry a knife for protection. This means that if the police want to arrest one of them, for whatever reason, they can because they will likely find a knife on them.
I see. Is this pure fear behind it or is there some evidence that the law is beneficial?
But yeah, another good pretext for harassing the young and/or poors.
Reminds of war on drugs until police started doing to the all "children" in the US and that attitude changed pretty quick.
We (Denmark) have 0.9 homicides per 100,000 capita, UK has 1.1 USA has 6.3.
Of course there are other factors, but overall regulation definitely and very evidently helps.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_intentional_homicide_rate
That's at best a correlation
That's what all these articles missed, this isn't a first offense, the man is a known burglar, did 4 years previously
Some NotTheOnion type shit.
At least it didn’t break in the middle of fighting a Lynel.
.
If you were caught with the blade visible in public, you could be arrested. I also carry a leatherman, and ensure it is never visible.
Yeah, I'm careful to never whip out my 3" in public.
I feel like he could have been let off with a fine and confiscation where if he would do it again or act provocatively the prison sentence would apply. 4 months in prison is a lot
A suspended prison sentence makes too much sense. Gotta teach this nerd a lesson.
The image in the article shows the entire thing being 20cm and the actual 'blade' portion of the toy being around 13cm long. a little longer than the blade on a pretty standard multi tool like a Leatherman.
Is this seriously what the police were actually concerned about, I understand that it's different in the UK vs the US, but this is definitely overkill. This thing would need to be pinched between your thumb and index finger like a cigarette to be wielded and is arguably less dangerous than a fork.
They're only allowed to have 7.62 cm, so from a legal standpoint it's almost twice the legal limit.
If the law doesn't make sense you don't challenge it by breaking it.
The police don't carry guns there so yeah they're concerned.
Running around twirling a clearly illegal item in public is pretty good logical grounds for police intervention. If the law says 3 in when do you actually stop them is it 4, 10, 12? If he was just transporting it from one house to another they might have let it go. But he's walking around fidgeting twirling it in the open. I suspect he was performing twirls and dagger tricks. So the general public is probably also a little concerned. If he's walking around his neighborhood twirling it around all the time it might even been a neighbor that called the police on it.
The fine is reasonable, getting locked up for 4 months is probably a bit much.
Leave this old nerd alone
They jailed my man Link smh
America is stupid for excessive guns. But this is stupid in the other direction. Talk about over policing. Fuck me this is stupid
Prison? For this?
Just take it away and warn him. How did no one along the way protest the heavy handedness of this?
I agree with your point seeing as how the article dosen't have this info, but the context that He's a known burglar, has done at least 4 years in prison and 'but it's just a novelty item' has been a tactic of criminals in England for a long time, it makes more sense why he was busted.
Oh, I guess I was assuming it wasn't even sharp, like an actual novelty item.
It's sharp metal, 6in. So roughly hand size, it's more like a custom figurine type of deal.
I'm surprised Nintendo's lawyers didn't get to him before the police.
Lol finally, we can keep these dorks off the streets. Everyone can feel safe now
/s
The Blade of Evil's Bane should be carried by everyone at this point.
Anthony Bray the convicted burglar?
you are never gonna let him forget that are you
Yes.
Why so extreme? At most it should've been confiscated and given a small fine.
If I’d encounter someone wielding a naked 15cm blade, I’d be extremely wary as well. That blade can easily cause serious harm or kill, regardless of being a replica toy or not. Walking around with what is essentially a dagger is reckless. Maybe the sentence is a bit harsh, but that dude deserved being stopped.
Can’t pretty much everything around you cause serious harm or kill??? I don’t understand this stance.
Yes, you're right everything can cause serious harm or kill, but certain things are designed to harm or kill, or designed to look like something that could harm or kill.
Context is a big factor here. A person holding a 6 inch knife in a kitchen? No one is going to bat an eye. They're probably using that knife to prep vegetables. Same knife, same person but they are walking around a market/playground/movie theatre? Suddenly it's a very different situation and context.
Is that stranger with the knife safe? I don't know, but I do know that I don't have anything to defend myself aside from what is around me if they ARE NOT a safe person.
There is nothing wrong with running around swinging knives simply because you want to. That’s just freedom, and it’s ok.
So instead of arming yourself, you’re trying to disarm the rest of the world? Why take that difficult path instead of the easy way?
Yeah no wonder America is a lost cause in terms of violence. How or why would anyone arm themselves when they're already in a public place?
To protect yourself and others from crazies. Because crazies can and will use anything and everything as a weapon.
And how come the crazies exist nonetheless and do all that kind of stuff somewhat independently of other people being armed?
Also, these same crazies, in other countries, tend to be unarmed (besides kitchen weapons). Would you prefer to defend against one with a gun or one with a knife?
If someone in those countries is caught in shady circumstances carrying any sort of substantial blade, that person is in trouble. If someone in a "freedom country" is caught carrying a gun under the same shady circumstances, that person walks free as that's not illegal by itself.
A mix of mental health issues and standard human nature.
One with a knife. But my preference of enemy arms does not negate that enemy’s right to defend themself with a gun. I’d also prefer that no one ever hurt anyone else, but my preference there cannot be guaranteed.
And yes, correct, in the USA we can have guns.
I'm not so sure that standard human nature is that prevalent in some countries, independently of guns.
In Switzerland everyone has guns and weirdos are not much of a thing. People aren't even carrying them. It would be a weirdo has gun Vs you have no gun. However, given that it is publicly known that any misuse of the said guns is gravely punished (and that they treat properly people with mental health issues) that's not a common thing.
You say you prefer relatively less armed weirdos. However prefer the solution where both of you can have lethal weapons and have to provide no justification whatsoever to carry them.
You: "Mr. officer, That hat guy, he tried to assault me, he has a gun".
Off: "Did you?".
Guy: "Nope".
Off: "Do you have any proof or witnesses?".
You: "Nope".
Off: "Both free to go"
In a no-guns country it goes like You: "Mr. officer, That hat guy, he tried to assault me, he has a knife".
Off: [checks for knife] "Come with me"
I agree with the first two paragraphs. USA is going down the shitter in dealing with crazies.
I understand the point you’re attempting with the rest of your comment but I disagree it’s a plausible scenario or problem.
It very much is plausible. Source: I live in a country that has been considered the "safest country on the world" a few times (that's Portugal if you're curious).
You can get into fist fights in the night zones et all and police officers are not going to care about it. Unless someone is caught in the act, nobody is going to do much as long as nothing is anywhere near lethal.
But the moment anyone has a knife, that's going to be a trip with the officers and ends up on record. Being caught with a gun without a very good excuse is the end of the line. High chance you get to serve time over it, just for having a gun. Or anything else really.
Knuckles? Pepper spray? Stun gun? You're likely to serve time over that. Very least, community service.
And it... Just... Works? Every time anyone annoying comes by asking for anything you can just carry on, completely ignoring the person. What exactly can they do?
A good part of those annoying fellas do so because of tourists. They know that if they sound threatening to tourists, some of them will think that they're being robbed. They're not. Just carry on with your life that you're fairly guaranteed that there no such thing as a weapon anywhere close.
I hear you. But my experiences are all very similar. There are still fights, and guns and knives being involved is VERY rare unless you’re in a bad area.
In fact, check this out, I’m in my mid 40s and I’ve never even seen a gun on anyone who isn’t a police officer or military. I’ve been in fights. I’ve lived homeless on the streets of Baltimore. I ignore annoying people.
Is my experience everyone’s? No. But the rest of the world acts like it’s some major daily problem everyone deals with over here. It’s not.
Public safety.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
A man has been jailed for brandishing a replica of a sword from the Nintendo game The Legend of Zelda on the streets of a Warwickshire market town, which he said was a “fidget toy” to keep his hands busy.
Anthony Bray, 48, of Nuneaton, was sentenced to four months in prison after being found in possession of a bladed article in public.
The article in question was a replica of the “master sword” from The Legend of Zelda series which had a total blade length of 6in, Warwickshire police said.
On 8 June, officers were made aware via CCTV of a man, Bray, walking down Queens Road, Nuneaton, with the sword in his hand.
Sgt Spellman, of the patrol investigations unit, said: “We take a zero tolerance [approach] to bladed articles in public, and Bray has fallen afoul of this.
Police said Bray admitted that the sword could be perceived as threatening if someone else had seen it, but he insisted in interviews he would not have used it as a weapon.
The original article contains 290 words, the summary contains 173 words. Saved 40%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!
Too bad he's a criminal now or id tell em to come to merica where he can carry a real pistol like a big boy
It's dangerous to go alone! take this.
hands Link a glock
Damn, Act Man really let himself go.
Should have carried the gun blade from FF8 and it be protected under the 2nd amendment.
In the UK?
To be fair they used to have a right acknowledged in the 1689 Bill of Rights
Its amazing how the colonists were basically just "Lets be Englishmen.....but over there instead. And we'll do all the same stuff, but also totally different."
And John Adams said "Will there be alchohol?"
And then George Washington said "One day we'll even name a beer after you."
Then Benjamin Franklin went off to France to get laid a whole bunch. It was pretty easy to get laid in France in the 1770s if you just showed up, and said you're leading a revolution against the British, and overthrowing monarchy power. Just tons of pusspuss and fine wine to go around.
.......what were we talking about?
They considered themselves to be Englishmen, and have the rights of one, even after the Battle of Bunker Hill for some time. Also you're thinking of Sam Adams, who was a brewer. But Franklin is pretty much dead on the money. Didn't even wear a wig just showed up all slovenly and slayed.
2nd amendment of what? The Magna Carta?
I mean that's what the US Supreme court cites when overturning our rights so why can't the UK do the same?