2022 Offensive Weapons Surrender Campaign under Part 4 of the Offensive Weapons Act 2019

The Lord Advocate has agreed that for the period from Friday 1 July 2022 to Friday 30 September 2022, both dates inclusive, it will not be in the public interest to prosecute any individual who surrenders an item listed under Article 2 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 (Offensive Weapons) (Scotland) Order 2005, as amended, in accordance with the terms of the offensive weapons surrender campaign, in relation to possession of the item being surrendered.

This statement of prosecution policy applies to any offence committed under sections 47(1) (carrying of offensive weapons) and 49(1) (articles with a blade or point in a public place) of the Criminal Law (Consolidation) (Scotland) Act 1995, as amended as it relates to possession of an item listed under Article 2 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 (Offensive Weapons) (Scotland) Order 2005 as amended.

This statement of prosecution policy does not extend to (a) any item not listed under Article 2 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 (Offensive Weapons) (Scotland) Order 2005  as amended, or (b) any other offence where there is evidence that the item was used in the commission of that offence.

This statement of prosecution policy extends to situations where the police attend any location for the purpose of facilitating surrender of an item or where an individual is found in possession of an item listed under Article 2 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 (Offensive Weapons) (Scotland) Order 2005 as amended, whilst travelling to a police office to surrender it. However, this will depend on an assessment of all the circumstances of the case. The Lord Advocate reserves the right to prosecute in any appropriate case.

Where an individual is found in possession of an item listed under Article 2 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 (Offensive Weapons) (Scotland) Order 2005 as amended, during the period of the campaign and indicates that they were attempting to surrender the item, police officers will consider all relevant circumstances when deciding whether that individual should be reported to the Procurator Fiscal.