WEAPONS offences are on the rise in Whittlesea. Offences recorded from July 2011 to April 2012 totalled 172, Whittlesea Police Inspector Robert Dykstra said.
This number is a rise on figures for the 2010–2011 financial year, in which there were 165 weapons-related offences.
Offences recorded this financial year included possessing prohibited weapons such as knives, daggers, swords, mace or capsicum spray and blunt force weapons.
There were also very few firearms offences, Mr Dykstra said, and figures also covered offences such as storing a legally owned firearm with ammunition.
A weapon, under the Control of Weapons Act 1990, can be anything “considered inappropriate for general possession and use”.
It is not legal to carry pocket knives and knives in self defence, Mr Dykstra reminded residents.
“Carrying a knife for some perceived risk is not excusable under the law and we will charge people in every instance,” he said.
He also warned that being armed could escalate potentially violent incidents, with knives often being used against their owners or inciting opponents to bring out another weapon in response.
“I am happy that we are detecting more weapons as they are seized and ultimately forfeited and destroyed in most cases,” said Mr Dykstra.
“One less weapon is one less chance of a person being slashed, stabbed or killed by a moment’s madness and a lifetime of regret.”
