CAN A 15YR OLD BE CONVICTED OF CRIME FOR JUST HAVING A KNIFE ON HIM??

RenaNMSU

Just because he is 15 he can't get convicted for having a knife at school? Please, yes he can. Especially if it was found on his person. He might not have used it, but there was intent. Why did he feel the need to take the knife to school, and why didn't he tell someone about the problem? Did you know about the problem? If you did why didn't you as a parent do something about it. You must teach your child that there are other solutions other than violence. And taking a weapon to school is a serious matter, what if he used it and accidentally hurt another student who wasn't involved. What then?

I know that he is your son but this is a lesson well learned.

Vix T

Yes he can, and he can be sent to a juvenile detention centre as well.

And at the moment they seem to be taking a really tough stance on Knife related crimes, so I'd be prepared for it not to go well.

torinn person guy over there

im sorry yes he can

hairhorn

uh, if he's being charged, damn straight he can get convicted. What would be the point of the charges otherwise?

Champagne suspended a 5th time.

Of course he can. He had the knife with intention to use it. Thank goodness it didn't come to that else he could now be on a murder charge!

hardquestion

of course he can, ur doing a great job as a mum by the way. Im sure ur son will go to university and get a degree.... nah just joking pull ur finger out and maybe he wont end up in jail!

onlyme

Definitely.
Carrying a knife at any school is a major no no.

taxed till i die,

Yes he can.

What makes you think not? There are places in this country where possession of a knife is against the law, such as on an airplane, in a school, in a court of law, etc. Please don't tell me you didn't know this. Ignorance of the law is not an excuse.

Emily

i'm pretty sure you can be convicted of a crime, regardless of age. how heavy of a sentence he might receive, i have no idea. assuming since he wasn't threatening anyone with it, he might not get as bad of a sentence. it all really depends.

babygirl90874eva

they definitely can one boy is still away after like years for that

migdalski

Yes. It's a crime. Outcome? Don't know; may depend on whether the bench had a good breakfast.

jslinderml

You didn't say where you were so its kind of hard to give specifics. However, he is definately in trouble for carrying a concealed weapons plus carrying it in school is usually a second violation. He's looking at probation, suspension and maybe expulsion most likely.

Kelley

definelty yes

hitman47

afraid so...after all the knife crime happening lately the government finally pulled their thumbs out their arses and did something about it

SUE G online

yes he can, there is no excuse for carrying a knife, if one carries a knife then others will follow, its a vicious circle, and if you carry a knife then you should take the consequences, juvenile centre or whatever comes

Maid Angela

It sounds to me as though the knife can be classed as an offensive weapon as you have said he was carrying it because some boys were after him. That is an offense and he can be charged with it.
You need a good lawyer.

princessleah

Anybody above the age of 12 can be held criminally responsible so yes you can be convicted and I think the current rule is one month for every inch above 3 inches in jail/young offenders institute, if it was less than three inches long he may be lucky. Also, they are unlikely to be severe if it is his first offence. Hopefully he will only get community service though and that will teach him a lesson.
Good luck

Vicky T Viking

For just having a knife on him!!!! I very much hope he is prosecuted. Presumably he wasn't carrying it to make his sandwiches with! He must have intended to use even if in self defense. Even if he isn't violent, it could have been taken from him and used to stab him or somebody else.

One Happy Egg

Yes he can. And so he bloody should be, for reasons you mentioned in the first paragraph of your question details.

RicoSuave

Depends on the jurisdiction you live in and what their laws are for carrying a concealed weapon (I am assuming he was not waving it around was he?)

As long as there was no "Intent to inflict injury" on another person, then he may get a slap on the wrist and a fine... if he threatened someone with the knife, he could get a harsh penalty depending on the laws in your jurisdiction. You may want to search your local laws instead of asking on Yahoo...

rthimble

Yes he can be convicted, it is a concealed weapon. School have 0 tolerance policies now he could go to juvy. If it's his first problem they may go easy on him with house arrest and a bracelet to make sure he is there.

Jen B

Yes I believe he can be convicted, however if there is no previous record or the knife was not used in a violent crime the punishment would probably be very light, from community service to probation. I would ask a lawyer or the crown if the minor finishes his punishment and there are no futher run ins with the law that it be removed from his record.

Justin H

In general, whether having a knife is illegal will depend on local and state laws and will often depend on the length of the knife and whether it was concealed. However, having a weapon on school property is likely a more serious charge - but again it will depend on local and/or state laws.

Assuming your son has a clean record and is not accused of actually brandishing the weapon or threatening someone with the weapon, it's very likely he won't get anything more serious than probation and/or community service.

Big T

It's against the law to carry a knife in England.
It would seem he's broken the law and, despite his reasons for carrying it, will have to suffer whatever consequences the courts decide.
Although I can understand why young people carry knives for "self-defence", it does seem fairly obvious that that is an excuse that can be used by anybody. If they all use that excuse, and they do, and it's accepted as valid by the courts, nobody will ever be convicted.
We have, as you and your son must know, enormous problems with knife crime in England. It has to be stopped, and the law is the only reasonable way to go about it.
Although it may seem harsh to you that your son is looking at a fairly unsympathetic court, and probable conviction, I'm afraid you are both going to have to face the fact that he behaved criminally, and must face up to it.
I don't believe his age should come into it - at 15 he is quite old enough to know right from wrong.

Sunny Day

I'm sorry to tell you it is a crime.
Lets hope this lesson saves his life. When you see how many young lives have been lost in the last year alone in the UK.

Young people should be encourage to tell on the bullies that are frightening them at school.

Chris M

Yes i'm afraid he can and will probably get a 3-6 month sentence tho if your lawyer is good he will appeal it and will get out same day. If you had asked this question 18 months ago then i would have said no he would escape with a warning but in the current climate can you expect anything else?

UPDATE:- When you reached the age of 10 you probably didn't realise you had reached the age of criminal responsibility. Until the age of 10 the law says that you cannot be held responsible for a crime.

Between the ages of 10 and 14 you can be convicted of a criminal offence if the prosecution can show you were aware that what you were doing was seriously wrong. For example, the case of Jamie Bulger, who was killed by two 10 year olds, was based on this principle. The prosecution showed that the two boys knew that what they were doing was seriously wrong and they were given prison sentences.

After the age of 14 the law considers you are fully responsible for your actions in the same way as an adult. As such you will be treated as an adult in a court of law in terms of criminal responsibility (although not in terms of sentencing).

joan k

Yes he can. They are coming down very hard on anybody caught carrying a knife. He could even be sent to a youth detention center. I hope he has learnt his lesson. It's always the parents who have to pick up the pieces.

Friendly Neighbor hood Pedophile

i didn't think you could i know someone who had a knife and all they got was suspended for a week or 2

but still your son shouldn't have taken a knife to school and he should have been more careful not to get caught.

and i think that the punishment is very minium

truthinessmaybe

You need to provide more information to get a useful answer. Regardless, you should try to get your son a lawyer.

1. Was he 15 or 16 at the time of the alleged offense?
2. What state was he in?
3. What kind of knife was it / how long is the blade? (Switchblade? Swiss Army? Kitchen knife? Gravity knife? The laws may differ).
4. How was the knife found? Did he pull it out? Did a teacher simply decide to search his bag? Did he set off a metal detector at the entrance?
5. Is he alleged to have used the knife in any way?
6. You said you and your son attended the police station for an interview. Going to the interview was probably a mistake. Remember, your son -- and indeed all of us -- have the right to remain silent. Criminal suspects should exercise that right (or at least consult with a good lawyer before making the unusual decision to talk to the cops). What exactly did your son say? Did he say, "yeah I had the knife. Yes I gave permission to the teacher to search my bag. I was going to stab Johnny if he threatened me again"?

Answers / responses to the above will get you better answers.

FOLLOW-UP: To respond to your additional info, you still don't tell us your jurisdiction so it makes responding very difficult. You did describe yourself as "mum" so you may be a Brit or Canadian. Either way, you say he got the knife from the school kitchen, which means he stole the knife. Right there, he committed a crime, whether or not possession of a three inch blade in your jurisdiction is legal. Get your son a lawyer. If you don't think you can afford one, there are possible sources of free lawyers in the U.S., Canada and the UK. Ask the court clerk; ask the local bar association. Tell us where you are. He needs a lawyer.

Phill

Im sorry to tell you, but as you've probably guessed he can be convicted.

Reading your additional details, he was in possession of a prohibited item with the express intent of using it.

In the UK the current climate, knife crime is particularly looked down on and my advice would be plead guilty early on and mitigate to the factors that he was a stupid kid and it was a heat of the moment thing and he is sorry, this may not negate some form of custodial sentence.

In respect of his passport status he committed a crime here and therefore will be tried and can be convicted in the country the offence was committed.

I will not lie that it will stay on his criminal records forever, however, it does not completely ruin his life, if he gets his life into order. A stupid mistake at 15 is not completely held against you.

I would hope that you have expressed the extreme ramifications of his actions had he actually used it, it merely takes one stab to end a life, this could have been far worse than possession of an offencive weapon.

Delays in the case will make no difference, as he is being asked to attend the police station in order to be arrested, many trials can take up to 2 years without any problems.

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