Sales of pocket knives should be banned

THE sale of pocket knives in public markets and on the streets should be banned altogether as they are being used in criminal activities.
The Government through its agencies should outlaw the sale of these items especially on the streets and markets.
In fact the carrying of knives and other dangerous weapons in public should be banned altogether.
We often hear of people charged with wounding, assault occasioning grievous bodily harm and murder using pocket knives.
They are convenient to the users because they easy to carry around, conveniently hidden in trouser pockets or in bilum bags. They can pulled out at an instant to commit a crime. They can also be used to intimidate people, hold someone up, or to attack someone with.
Police prosecutor Pirika Eafeara told the Waigani Committal Court last week that the use of pocket knives to commit serious crimes was a growing issue which had to be looked into and stopped.
He said most of the cases that went before the court were related to marital affairs and alcohol consumption. Some women are appearing in court charged with wounding others using pocket knives. Some attack their husband’s mistresses, or even their husbands, in cases of extra-marital affairs. And it is usually the children who suffer when their mothers are locked behind bars.
It is scary to walk about in public trying to guess who in the crowd has a pocket knife in the pocket or bag ready to attack with little or no provocation at all.
Eafeara told the court that pocket knives are used more now as murder weapons. Laws on knives must be put in place to say it is illegal to sell a knife to anyone under 18. The carrying of knives in public is forbidden or restricted by law in many countries and the same must be applied here in PNG. There can be exceptions made for hunting knives, pocket knives, and knives used for work-related purposes (chef’s knives), depending upon the laws of a given jurisdiction.  In turn, the carrying or possessing of certain type of knife perceived as deadly or offensive weapons such as automatic or switchblade knives or butterfly knives may be restricted or prohibited.
Even where knives may be legally carried on the person generally, this right may not extend to all places and circumstances.
Knives of any description must be prohibited at schools, public buildings or courthouses, and at public events. We support the call for the sale of pocket knives to be controlled with strict laws implemented by the Government. This should also extend to other types of knives.
The carrying of any form of knife be it a bush knife, rainbow knife, grass knife in public should be strictly regulated.
The Government must also implement laws that would ban individuals from carrying knives on the streets. They have to be banned to ensure people can walk about in public places without any fear of being attacked. They are as dangerous as guns when carried around in public by people with sinister motives. Totally banning them is the solution. Those found carrying such weapons which can be used to injure another must be arrested and charged. It will make everyone feel safer and more comfortable in public places.